wahr

See also: währ

Central Franconian

Etymology

From German wahr. Doublet of inherited wohr (truthful).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʋaə̯/
  • Homophone: War

Adjective

wahr (masculine wahre, feminine wahr or wahre, not comparable)

  1. (most dialects) true, real, actual
    Synonym: ääch
    Dat es en wahre Praach!
    That's a real splendour!

German

Etymology

    From Middle High German wār, wǣre, from Old High German wār, wāri, from Proto-West Germanic *wār, from Proto-Germanic *wēraz.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /vaːr/, [vaː(ɐ̯)], [vaːʁ], [ʋ-]
    • Audio:(file)
    • Audio (Germany (Berlin)):(file)
    • Homophone: war

    Adjective

    wahr (strong nominative masculine singular wahrer, comparative wahrer, superlative am wahrsten)

    1. true, real
      Synonym: echt
      Antonym: falsch
      Das ist wahre Liebe.This is true love.
    2. true, truthful
      Synonyms: ehrlich, wahrheitsgemäß
      Antonyms: falsch, unwahr
      Das ist ein wahres Wort.This is a truthful statement

    Usage notes

    • The German word is not commonly used to mean “correct”. Thus “a true answer” is eine richtige Antwort. The phrase eine wahre Antwort would usually be understood in the sense of “a truthful answer” (for which more often eine ehrliche Antwort).

    Declension

    Derived terms

    Further reading

    • wahr” in Duden online
    • wahr” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

    Low German

    Etymology

    From Middle Low German wâr, from Old Saxon wār. Cognate with German wahr, Dutch waar.

    Adjective

    wahr (comparative wahrer or wahrder, superlative wahrst)

    1. true

    Declension