allein

See also: Allein

German

Alternative forms

• alleine (chiefly colloquial, only occasionally in formal writing)

Etymology

From Middle High German al-ein. Cognate with Middle English al-one, English alone, Dutch alleen, Low German alleene (Münsterländisch), alläine (Sauerländisch).

Pronunciation

• (Standard German)
  • IPA^(key): /(ʔ)aˈlaɪn/
• (Swabian)
  • IPA^(key): /(ʔ)əˈlɔɪ̯/

• Audio (Austria):

  (file)

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ̯n

Adjective

allein (indeclinable, predicative only)

1. (only predicative) alone

   Er ist ganz allein.

   He is all alone.

   • 1913 [1878], chapter 7, in Hermann Röhl, transl., Anna Karenina‎^[1], translation of Анна Каренина (Anna Karenina) by Leo Tolstoy, part 8:

     Warum glaubt er dann also nicht? Doch wohl, weil er zuviel denkt? Und daß er soviel denkt, das kommt von seinem einsamen Leben her. Immer ist er allein, immer allein.

     Then why is it he doesn't believe? Surely from his thinking so much? And he thinks so much from being solitary. He's always alone, alone.

Adverb

allein

1. alone

   Er schrieb das Buch allein.

   He wrote the book alone.

   Allein im Jahr 2012 starben 500 Menschen an der Krankheit.

   In 2012 alone, 500 people died from the illness.

2. (formal, literary) only

   Synonyms: nur, bloß

   Allein ein Wunder kann uns noch helfen.

   Only a miracle can help us now.

Derived terms

• alleinig

Related terms

• alleinerziehend, Alleingang, alleinherrschend, Alleinherrscher, alleinreisend, alleinstehend, Alleinstellung

Conjunction

allein (coordinating)

1. only, but
   • 1909 [1901], Thomas Mann, chapter 1, in Buddenbrooks […] ‎^[2], Berlin: Deutsche Buch-Gemeinschaft, →OCLC, part 8, page 425:

     Sie war entrüstet, empört, in ihren heiligsten Gefühlen beleidigt; allein das änderte nichts …

     She was shocked and outraged in her deepest sensibilities—but that did not mend matters.

See also

• einsam

Further reading

• “allein”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[3] (in German)