Answers
Apr 27, 2014 - 09:47 AM
Hi,
Doch is a tricky word with perhaps no single english equivalent..It has multiple uses...doch can mean on the contrary..hast du keine Zeit? Doch, ja, ich habe zeit...
Can be used in suggestions, softening orders..Gehen wir doch ins Kino...other uses are for expressing surprise..
I am learning french and not sure your exact context, but hope this helps...
Doch is a tricky word with perhaps no single english equivalent..It has multiple uses...doch can mean on the contrary..hast du keine Zeit? Doch, ja, ich habe zeit...
Can be used in suggestions, softening orders..Gehen wir doch ins Kino...other uses are for expressing surprise..
I am learning french and not sure your exact context, but hope this helps...
Apr 27, 2014 - 10:04 AM
I hear Germans use Doch all the time and you'll probably come across instances where you'll say, "mein Deutsch ist nicht gut genug" - My German isn't good enough and they'll reply with "Doch". The listen uses Doch to negate what the speaker is saying and confirm the opposite in one quick word. "Ich bin nicht gut" - i'm not good. "Doch!". Sometimes they'll add more like, "Doch, du bist sehr gut!" Just my experience with the word.
May 02, 2014 - 10:29 PM
Hey, Kristine, I'd hopefully like to help a little bit with this too. I'll reference German rock too! First, let me set the record straight in that I am no a native speaker nor am I fluent. This is me just chiming in what I've learned about the word through my studies.
Doch has A LOT of meanings as doclatika and warriorfan808 said. Doch can also be used to mean "obviously" or "after all". I'll illustrate with Haifisch by Rammstein. Please forgive the lack of accent keys as I'm typing in windows and don't know how to do it.
Und der Haifisch, der hat Tranen (And the shark it has tears)
Und die laufen vom Gesicht (And they run down its face)
Doch der Haifisch liebt in Wasser (But the shark lives in water)
So die Tranen sieht man nicht (So no one sees the tears)
In that third line, doch sort of implies obviously and but.. It'd be read better as "But the shark (obviously/after all) lives in water" (hence why you can't see the tears).
Doch has A LOT of meanings as doclatika and warriorfan808 said. Doch can also be used to mean "obviously" or "after all". I'll illustrate with Haifisch by Rammstein. Please forgive the lack of accent keys as I'm typing in windows and don't know how to do it.
Und der Haifisch, der hat Tranen (And the shark it has tears)
Und die laufen vom Gesicht (And they run down its face)
Doch der Haifisch liebt in Wasser (But the shark lives in water)
So die Tranen sieht man nicht (So no one sees the tears)
In that third line, doch sort of implies obviously and but.. It'd be read better as "But the shark (obviously/after all) lives in water" (hence why you can't see the tears).
Jun 04, 2014 - 12:40 PM
Hi Kristine
Wow, "doch" is a tough little word. In fact, as you can see from the link below it is really something that is working with the nuances and intricacies of German and in many cases has no equivalent in English. We wouldn't actually teach this until an advanced level. So for now if you stick with "aber" which means "but" you will be more than fine. Do take note when you come across this "doch" to get a feel for the situations where Germans might use it but don't worry too much as it is really not essential to communicate with native Germans.
http://german.about.com/library/weekl...
Wow, "doch" is a tough little word. In fact, as you can see from the link below it is really something that is working with the nuances and intricacies of German and in many cases has no equivalent in English. We wouldn't actually teach this until an advanced level. So for now if you stick with "aber" which means "but" you will be more than fine. Do take note when you come across this "doch" to get a feel for the situations where Germans might use it but don't worry too much as it is really not essential to communicate with native Germans.
http://german.about.com/library/weekl...
Oct 15, 2014 - 01:26 AM
I can help explain the word "doch"-the simple definition for this word is this: use doch as a positive word in response to a negative statement. I have been studying privately for 6 months with a native German speaker at Berlitz and we studied that concept couple of months ago.