Schicksal

German

Alternative forms

• Schiksaal (obsolete)

Etymology

17th century, from schicken +‎ -sal, after now archaic Dutch schiksel (16th c.).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃɪk.zaːl/, /-zal/, /-saːl/, /-sal/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Schicksal n (strong, genitive Schicksals or Schicksales, plural Schicksale or (chiefly informal) Schicksäler)

1. (uncountable) destiny, fate (irresistible power that predetermines events)
2. (countable) someone's destiny, fate
3. (countable) life story; the general conditions and main developments of a person's life; more often than in English used without any notion of predetermination

   Synonyms: Lebensweg, Lebensschicksal

   Das Buch beschreibt die Schicksale von zehn Frauen aus verschiedenen Gesellschaftsschichten im frühen 20. Jahrhundert.

   The book portrays the life stories of ten women from different social classes in the early 20th century.

Usage notes

• The normal plural is Schicksale. The form Schicksäler is more informal and sometimes slightly deprecative, e.g. expressing the notion that people exaggerate the bitterness of their fates. However, it is also attestable as an entirely neutral variant.

Declension

Declension of Schicksal [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Schicksal	die	Schicksale, Schicksäler2
genitive	eines	des	Schicksals, Schicksales	der	Schicksale, Schicksäler2
dative	einem	dem	Schicksal, Schicksale1	den	Schicksalen, Schicksälern2
accusative	ein	das	Schicksal	die	Schicksale, Schicksäler2

¹Now rare, see notes.
²Chiefly informal.

Derived terms

• schicksalhaft
• schicksalsergeben
• Schicksalsgemeinschaft
• Schicksalsschlag

Further reading

• “Schicksal” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Schicksal” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Schicksal” in Duden online
• Schicksal on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de