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How to Say ‘But the boss's email says Thursday.’ in German

Aber in der E-Mail vom Chef steht Donnerstag.

AH-ber in dair ay-MAIL fom shef shtayt Doh-ner-stahg

[AH-ber in dair ay-MAIL fom shef shtayt Doh-ner-stahg]

💬 Usage Tip: Where English says the email "says" something, German uses steht, literally "stands": in der E-Mail steht Donnerstag. Same for signs and documents: im Vertrag steht... "the contract says...".

Phrase Breakdown

Aber in der E-Mail

AH-ber in dair ay-MAIL

But in the email

'Aber' (but) shows contrast. Stress 'A-ber'.

Example

Aber in der E-Mail steht etwas anderes.

But the email says something else.

Words in this phrase

Aber

[AH-ber]

but

conjunction used to introduce a contrast or problem

Example

Aber zeigt in der Antwort Aber, ich habe noch Schmerzen. einen Gegensatz.

Aber shows a contrast in the answer But, I still have pain.

[in]

Expressing the situation of something that is or appears to be enclosed or surrounded by something else.

Example

Das Haus steht in Trümmern.

The house is in ruins.

der

[dair]

the

Feminine article in the dative case, used after 'in' for location.

Example

Das steht in der Zeitung.

That's in the newspaper.

E-Mail

[ay-MAIL]

A system for sending messages from one computer to another.

Example

Ich habe eine E-Mail von meinem Chef erhalten.

I received an email from my boss.

vom Chef

fom shef

from the boss

'vom' is short for 'von dem'. 'Chef' is pronounced with 'sh', like 'shef'.

Example

Das ist ein Brief vom Chef.

That's a letter from the boss.

Words in this phrase

vom

[fom]

from the

Contraction of 'von dem', showing origin or sender.

Example

Das ist ein Brief vom Kunden.

That's a letter from the customer.

Chef

[shef]

boss

The person in charge at work.

Example

Der Chef ist heute nicht da.

The boss isn't here today.

steht Donnerstag.

shtayt Doh-ner-stahg

it says Thursday.

'steht' here means 'it says' (written). The 'st' sounds like 'sht'. Stress 'DON-ners-tag'.

Example

Im Kalender steht Montag.

The calendar says Monday.

Words in this phrase

steht

[shtayt]

says; is written

Used to say what text appears in a document.

Example

Im Plan steht etwas anderes.

The plan says something different.

Donnerstag

[Doh-ner-stahg]

Thursday

The fourth day of the week in Germany, before Friday.

Example

Am Donnerstag spielen wir Fußball.

On Thursday, we play soccer.

Guides for German learners

Duolingo vs Pimsleur: Tapping on a Screen or Talking Out Loud?Duolingo vs Pimsleur: five minutes of tapping versus thirty minutes of speaking. What each is good at, what each costs, and which to pick for your goal.

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