Redensart

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German

Etymology

From Reden +‎ -s +‎ Art, a calque of French façon de parler. Cognate to Low German Rädensoarten (plural).

Pronunciation

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Noun

Redensart f (genitive Redensart, plural Redensarten)

  1. a commonly used expression, sentence, or proverb
    Synonym: Spruch

Usage notes

  • Typically, a Redensart is something in between a Redewendung (expression, idiom) and a Sprichwort (proverb), meaning that it is a full sentence with little or no variation but does not express a particular wisdom or truth.
  • For example, auf keine Kuhhaut gehen (to be unbelievable, literally to be more than fits on a cow's skin) is a Redewendung because it can be used freely in various sentences; whereas da brat mir doch einer 'n Storch (that's unbelievable!, literally someone fry me a stork now!) is a Redensart because it is used only in this sentence form. Neither of the two is a Sprichwort because there is no wisdom or morale.

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading