wohl
German
Alternative forms
Etymology
From the (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old High German wola (“well”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *wela, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *welh₁-. Compare Dutch wel, English well, Danish and Norwegian vel, Swedish väl.
Pronunciation
Adverb
wohl
- possibly, probably; as I was told (modal particle expressing an assumption, often like English must + infinitive, or (US) guess + clause)
- Er ist wohl schon gegangen.
- He must have left already.
- I guess he has left already.
- Seine Frau ist wohl irgendeine bekannte Ärztin.
- [I heard that] his wife is some well-known doctor.
- Er ist wohl schon gegangen.
- of course, indeed (modal particle adding stress to the statement to contradict a preceding one, often like English do + infinitive)
- Du warst ja noch nie in Frankreich. − Ich war wohl schon in Frankreich!
- "Since you've never been to France..." − "Of course, I've been to France!"
- Ich kann's dir nicht sagen, weil ich's nicht weiß. − Du weißt es ja wohl!
- "I can't tell you because I don't know." − "But you do know!"
- Du warst ja noch nie in Frankreich. − Ich war wohl schon in Frankreich!
- (regional, north-western Germany) actually, somehow, quite (modal particle making the statement weaker or expressing a concession)
- Was habt ihr denn alle mit der Suppe? Ich find die wohl nicht schlecht.
- "Why are you all complaining about the soup? I don't find it all that bad, actually."
- Was habt ihr denn alle mit der Suppe? Ich find die wohl nicht schlecht.
- (mostly elevated) well, very well
- Ihr habt wohl gesprochen, mein Herr!
- "Ye have spoken well, my lord!"
- Ihr habt wohl gesprochen, mein Herr!
Usage notes
- The distinction between the strengthening particle (“of course”) and the weakening particle (“actually”) is through intonation. With the former wohl is strongly stressed, with the latter it is unstressed.
- The weakening particle is regional (as indicated above); more general words for this sense are schon or eigentlich.
Synonyms
- (possibly) vermutlich, scheint’s
- (well) gut
Derived terms
Related terms
Categories:
- German terms derived from Old High German
- German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- German terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- German 1-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- Rhymes:German/oːl
- German lemmas
- German adverbs
- American English
- Regional German
- German modal particles