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How to Say ‘That was too fast’ in German

Das war zu schnell

dahs vah tsoo shnel

[dahs vah tsoo shnel]

💬 Usage Tip: zu before a describing word means "too": zu schnell, zu laut "too loud", zu viel "too much".

Phrase Breakdown

Das war

dahs vah

That was

'war' is the past form of 'sein' (to be). It sounds like 'vahr'.

Example

Das war gut.

That was good.

Words in this phrase

Das

[dahs]

that / it

Neutral pronoun/article referring to the situation or test result.

Example

Wir beobachten das nur.

We are just monitoring that.

war

[vah]

was

Past tense of 'is', used to describe something that happened or existed in the past.

Example

Er war ein großer Krieger.

He was a great warrior.

zu schnell

tsoo shnel

too fast

'zu' means 'too' here and is pronounced 'tsoo'. 'schnell' starts with 'shn'.

Example

Du fährst zu schnell.

You're driving too fast.

Words in this phrase

[tsoo]

too

Used with 'spät' to mean 'too late'.

Example

In Ich bin zu spät. verstärkt zu das Wort spät.

In I am too late., zu intensifies the word spät.

schnell

[shnel]

fast

means quick or fast

Example

Nach der Ansage geht es schnell.

After the announcement, it goes quickly.

Guides for German learners

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