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schon mal. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
schon mal, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
schon mal in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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German
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈʃoːnˈmaːl/ (official standard)
- IPA(key): /ˈʃoːˈma(ː)l/ (common)
- IPA(key): /ˈʃoːma/, /ˈʃɔma/ (colloquial)
Adverb
schon mal
- (somewhat informal) ever; before; already
Warst du schon mal in Frankfurt?- Have you ever been to Frankfurt?
1899, Theodor Fontane, Der Stechlin, F. Fontane & Co., page 270:Ich glaube, wir haben schon mal darüber gesprochen […]- I believe, we have talked about it before
1928, Kurt Tucholsky, “Haben Sie schon mal?”, in Mit 5 PS, Ernst Rowohlt, page 356:Haben Sie schon mal, Herr Landgerichtsdirektor, als Gefangener eine Nacht durchwacht?- Have you ever, Mister regional court director, spent a night awake as a prisoner?
- (somewhat informal) once in a while; at times; incidentally
Sowas kann schon mal vorkommen.- Such things may happen once in a while.
- 1916, Hermann Harry Schmitz, Die Bluse, in: Buch der Katastrophen, Kurt Wolff Verlag, page 45:
Solche Aufzüge bleiben schon mal stecken, dann verhungern die Insassen.- Such elevators get stuck once on a while, then the occupants starve to death.
- (colloquial) used for emphasis
Das ist schon mal ganz falsch!- That’s completely wrong to begin with!