Wertekompass

See also: Wertekompaß

German

Etymology

Wert +‎ -e- +‎ Kompass

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈveːɐ̯təˌkɔmpas/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Wertekompass m (strong, genitive Wertekompasses, no plural)

1. moral compass (inner sense which distinguishes what is right from what is wrong)
   • 2021 December 7, Lisa Paus, quotee, “Neue Gesichter, unerwartete Namen”, in Süddeutsche Zeitung‎^[1]:

     Sie will dafür sorgen, dass die Grünen auch als Regierungspartei ihrem "Wertekompass treu bleiben", erklärte sie.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

• The spelling Wertekompass has been the prescribed spelling since the German spelling reform of 1996 (the Rechtschreibreform). In Switzerland and Liechtenstein, it had already been standard since ⟨ß⟩ was deprecated in the 1930s. In the affected areas, the previous spelling (Wertekompaß) is now less common, and may be regarded as a misspelling.

Declension

Declension of Wertekompass [sg-only, masculine, strong]

	singular
	indef.	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Wertekompass
genitive	eines	des	Wertekompasses
dative	einem	dem	Wertekompass, Wertekompasse1
accusative	einen	den	Wertekompass

¹Now rare, see notes.

Further reading

• “Wertekompass” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache