genug
German edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Middle High German genuoc, from Old High German ginuog, from Proto-West Germanic *ganōg, from Proto-Germanic *ganōgaz. Cognate with Dutch genoeg, Low German noog, English enough, West Frisian genôch, Danish nok, Swedish nog. The Proto-Germanic word is a compound of the prefix *ga- + unreflexed *nōgaz. The latter is derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₂nóḱe (“to reach, achieve, carry out”), a form of *h₂neḱ-.[1]
Further Indo-European cognates: Latin nancīscor (“to get, to obtain”), Slovene nesti (“to carry”), Albanian kënaq (“to satisfy”).
Pronunciation edit
- IPA(key): /ɡəˈnuːk/ (standard)
- IPA(key): /ɡəˈnʊx/ (northern and central Germany; now chiefly colloquial)
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -uːk
Determiner edit
genug
- (invariable) enough, sufficient, an adequate number or amount of
- Wir haben nicht genug Geld.
- We don't have enough money.
Usage notes edit
- Genug can never follow an article or another determiner. Moreover, it is commonly used after the referent for emphasis: Die haben Geld genug! (“They have money enough!”)
Pronoun edit
genug
- (invariable) enough, an adequate number or amount
- Das ist genug.
- That's enough.
Usage notes edit
- Genug can be followed and preceded by a genitive as in genug der Worte, rarer der Worte genug.
Adverb edit
genug
- enough, sufficiently, in an adequate way
- Die Kinder haben genug gespielt.
- The children have played enough.
- Das Zimmer ist groß genug.
- The room is big enough.
Adjective edit
genug (strong nominative masculine singular genuger, not comparable)
- (colloquial) enough, sufficient, in an adequate way
Usage notes edit
- In colloquial German, genug can be declined in expressions like: ein groß genuges Zimmer (“a big enough room”). When used as an adjective, genug must follow another adjective, similar to its use as an adverb. In the standard language proper, ausreichend will be used instead, which precedes the adjective: ein ausreichend großes Zimmer (“a sufficiently big room”).
Declension edit
Positive forms of genug (uncomparable)
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | |||
predicative | er ist genug | sie ist genug | es ist genug | sie sind genug | |
strong declension (without article) |
nominative | genuger | genuge | genuges | genuge |
genitive | genugen | genuger | genugen | genuger | |
dative | genugem | genuger | genugem | genugen | |
accusative | genugen | genuge | genuges | genuge | |
weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | der genuge | die genuge | das genuge | die genugen |
genitive | des genugen | der genugen | des genugen | der genugen | |
dative | dem genugen | der genugen | dem genugen | den genugen | |
accusative | den genugen | die genuge | das genuge | die genugen | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | ein genuger | eine genuge | ein genuges | (keine) genugen |
genitive | eines genugen | einer genugen | eines genugen | (keiner) genugen | |
dative | einem genugen | einer genugen | einem genugen | (keinen) genugen | |
accusative | einen genugen | eine genuge | ein genuges | (keine) genugen |
Interjection edit
genug!
- enough!
- Genug! Hör auf mit diesem Unsinn! ― Enough! Quit this nonsense!
Synonyms edit
- (enough, sufficient): genügend, ausreichend, adequat
Antonyms edit
- (antonym(s) of “enough, sufficient”): ungenügend, unzureichend, inadequat
Derived terms edit
Derived terms
Further reading edit
- “genug” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- Friedrich Kluge (1883) “genug”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891
- “genug” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
References edit
- ^ Ringe, Donald (2006) From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic (A Linguistic History of English; 1)[1], Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN