Sache

See also: sache and sachê

German

Etymology

From Middle High German sache, from Old High German sahha, from Proto-Germanic *sakō. Cognate with German Low German Sake, Low German sake, Dutch zaak, Afrikaans saak, English sake, Danish sag, Swedish sak.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈzaxə/, [ˈzäχə]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Sa‧che
• Rhymes: -aχə

Noun

Sache f (genitive Sache, plural Sachen, diminutive Sächlein n or Sächelchen n)

1. affair
2. thing, object

   Da ist noch eine Sache.

   There's one more thing (for me to say).

3. (law) thing: corporeal object

   Sachen im Sinne des Gesetzes sind nur körperliche Gegenstände.

   Only corporeal objects are things as defined by law.

4. cause, action
5. subject, matter, business
   • 1960, Marie Luise Kaschnitz, ‘Schneeschmelze’:

     »Das tut nichts zur Sache«, sagte die Frau.

     "That's got nothing to do with it," said the woman.

   Das ist Privatsache.

   That's a private matter.

6. (chiefly in the plural, colloquial) kilometers per hour

   Er raste mit hundert Sachen um die Ecke.

   He raced around the corner at 100 per.

Derived terms

• abgekartete Sache (“put-up affair”)
• Ansichtssache (“matter of opinion”)
• beschlossene Sache (“done deal”)
• Hauptsache (“main thing”)
• Nebensache (“minor matter, minor point”)
• Privatsache (“private matter, private affair”)
• Sachbegriff (“subject heading”)
• Sachbuch (“non-fiction (book)”)
• sachdienlich (“pertinent, relevant, helpful”)
• sächlich (“neuter”)
• sachlich (“objective”)
• Tatsache (“fact”)

 

See also

• Ding
• Geraffel
• Zeug
• Gegenstand

Further reading

• “Sache” in Duden online

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Pennsylvania German

Noun

Sache

1. plural of Sach