Gegen means against, der Teil means part. (Dies ist der achte Teil of our German course.)
Therefore, das Gegenteil is the part that is against something else, i.e. its opposite.
It makes sense to learn words along with their opposites, provided they exist. If you're going to learn white, you might as well learn black at the same time. We've already got a few of these pairs, lang/kurz, for instance. See how easy learning them in pairs can be. Add a few words you already know to make sentences. Der Autobus ist nicht schwarz; er is weiß. Er kommt nicht früh, er kommt spät. (The bus is not black; he [I know, I know] is white. He comes not early, he comes late.)
Here is a list of common words and their opposites, or, where they lack opposites, their counterparts (Gegenstück). They're arranged so that you can cover up one side in order to test yourself on remembering the opposing word. Once you've done one side, cover up the other. Some of this is review, but there are many useful new words as well.
links |
left |
rechts |
right |
Our gh is
often
ch. Licht = light; Macht = power, might |
weiß |
white |
schwarz
|
black |
|
spät |
late |
früh bald |
early soon |
Spring, the early season, is Frühling. The early meal, breakfast, is Frühstück. |
heiß |
hot |
kalt |
cold |
|
warm |
warm |
kühl |
cool |
How easy can it get! |
gut |
good |
schlecht, schlimm |
bad |
|
stark |
strong |
schwach |
weak |
|
groß |
large, great |
klein |
small |
|
die Nacht |
night |
der Tag |
day |
|
der Morgen |
morning |
der Abend |
evening |
|
leicht leicht |
easy light |
schwer schwer |
hard heavy |
Double-duty on this one. |
die Sonne |
sun |
der Mond |
moon |
der Sonntag Sunday,
der Sonnenschein sunshine; der Montag Monday. das Mondlicht moonlight |
der Himmel |
heaven |
die Erde |
earth |
|
krank |
sick |
gesund |
healthy |
A crank (in English) is a complainer. Die Gesundheit is "healthy-hood," i.e. health. Guess what die Krankheit means. |
oben, auf |
up |
unten |
down |
|
über |
over |
unter |
under |
|
schnell |
fast, quick |
langsam |
slow |
"long-some" |
dick |
thick |
dünn |
thin |
There are many meanings for a word like "thin," so there are many translations. Think of a thin person, a thin sheet of paper, a thin soup, thin hair. A phrase like "through thick and thin" nevertheless exists in German: durch dich und dünn! (Thanks, Eckehart.) |
weit |
far |
nahe |
near |
nah-uh, such a soft word in a language full of gutterals and sibilance! |
alle |
all |
kein |
no, none |
|
der Tod |
death |
die Geburt das Leben |
birth life |
Ein Wort mit zwei Gegenteile! So what might Geburtstag be? |
hoch |
high |
nieder, niedrig |
low (nether) |
Die Hochzeit "high
time" is wedding. Die Niederlande is the Netherlands. |
geben |
give |
nehmen |
take |
|
die Frage fragen |
question to ask |
die Antwort antworten |
answer to answer |
Ich habe eine Frage (für dich). I have a question (for you). |
gehen |
go |
kommen |
come |
|
lachen |
laugh |
weinen |
cry |
cognate whine |
die Lache |
laughter, a laugh |
die Träne |
tear |
|
traurig |
sad | froh fröhlich |
happy cheerful |
|
süß |
sweet |
sauer |
sour, tart |
|
der Zucker |
sugar |
das Salz |
salt |
nothing hard here (except the genders) |
führen |
lead |
folgen |
follow |
Remember the g is hard. |
der Engel |
angel |
der Teufel |
devil |
|
wahr |
true |
falsch |
false |
|
viel |
many |
wenig |
few |
|
mehr (als) |
more (than) |
weniger (als) |
fewer (than) |
|
billig |
cheap | teuer |
expensive | Hint: for teuer, think dear. |
Du hast an diesen Punkt (point) mehr als einhundertfünfzig Wörte gelernt (learned)! Fast (almost) zweihundert! Es ist nicht leicht, eine neue Sprache zu lernen. Man muss die Zeit haben, und muss studieren.
In der nächste Lektion sehen wir noch (still, yet) andere (other) wichtige Wörte. Aber eine Sprache ist mehr als hunderttausend Wörte. Eine Sprache hat auch die Grammatik.
Die nächste Lektion ist hier >>>