See also: Falls and fälls

English edit

 
Angel Falls in Venezuela

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

falls (plural falls)

  1. A waterfall.
    Niagara Falls
    • 1983 [1981], John Crowley, “The Art of Memory”, in Little, Big, Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 475:
      And climbed up through the woods, past the lake island where the white gazebo stood up to its knees in mist, up to where a falls fell melodiously into a deep dark pool.

Derived terms edit

Translations edit

Noun edit

falls

  1. plural of fall

Verb edit

falls

  1. third-person singular simple present indicative of fall

German edit

Pronunciation edit

Conjunction edit

falls

  1. (conditional, somewhat formal) if, in the event that
    Falls es anfängt zu regnen, müssen wir das Fenster zumachen.
    If it starts raining, we need to close the window.
    Falls es keinen Nebel gibt, genießen Sie die Sonne.
    If there is no fog, enjoy the sun.
  2. (chiefly colloquial) in case, in order to be; prepared if
    Lass uns das Fenster zumachen, falls es anfängt zu regnen.
    Let's close the window, in case it starts raining.

Usage notes edit

  • Falls is synonymous to the more common wenn (if), but has the advantage of being unambiguously conditional, while wenn can also be used temporally (meaning "when, whenever").
  • Colloquially, falls is used somewhat differently than in standard German proper. It does occur in sense 1, but infrequently. In return, it is often heard in sense 2 where formal usage would require für den Fall, dass.

Synonyms edit

Related terms edit

Further reading edit

  • falls” in Duden online
  • falls” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Icelandic edit

Noun edit

falls n

  1. indefinite genitive singular of fall

Luxembourgish edit

Etymology edit

From German falls (17th c.).

Pronunciation edit

Conjunction edit

falls

  1. if (in the case that)

Swedish edit

Etymology edit

Noun edit

falls

  1. indefinite genitive singular of fall
  2. indefinite genitive plural of fall

See also edit