zumindest
German edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Adverb edit
zumindest
- at least
- Synonyms: immerhin, mindestens, wenigstens
- Du brauchst zumindest einen Führerschein, um Auto zu fahren.
- You need at least a driving license to drive a car.
- Geleistet hast du nichts, aber zumindest bist du überhaupt gekommen.
- You haven’t contributed anything, but at least you’ve shown up.
Usage notes edit
- Although zumindest and mindestens can often be used interchangeably, there is a tendency to distinguish them. Mindestens is preferred when there is an actual ranking, particularly one involving numbers, whereas zumindest is used otherwise.
- In the examples above, mindestens could be used alternatively in the first sentence, whereas it would sound awkward in the second. The difference is that sentence 2 does not express a requirement or lower limit but simply the insufficiency of the addressed person’s efforts.