sonst

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German

Etymology

From Middle High German sunst, sust, sus, from Old High German sus (“thus”), from Proto-West Germanic *sus, from *swā (“so”), formally related to Proto-West Germanic *þus (“thus”). Cognate with Hunsrik sunst, Old Saxon sus (Middle Low German süs),[1] archaic Dutch zonst (“otherwise”), Alemannic German sus and suscht.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /zɔnst/ (official standard)
  • IPA(key): /zɔns/ (generally before a consonant; colloquially also in pausa)
  • Audio:(file)
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: sonst

Adverb

sonst

  1. otherwise (under different circumstances)
    Synonyms: andernfalls, ansonsten
    Beeil dich, sonst kommen wir zu spät.
    Hurry up, otherwise we'll be late.
  2. normally, usually (as opposed to a particular case)
    Synonyms: andernfalls, normalerweise
    Ich trinke sonst nicht so viel.
    I don't normally drink so much.
  3. (often with noch) else
    Synonyms: weiter, darüber hinaus
    Sonst noch etwas?
    Anything else?
    Was soll es sonst sein?
    What else would it be?
  4. (colloquial) so; then; consecutive, but directed against an explicit or implicit alternative
    Synonyms: also, dann
    Wenn wir jetzt losgehen, sind wir eh zu spät. Sonst lass uns morgen noch mal wiederkommen.
    If we go there now, we’ll be late anyway. So let’s come back again tomorrow.
    Wir gehen grad in die Stadt. Also, wenn du Lust hast... sonst komm doch mit!
    We’re headed for the city. So, if you’re interested... then come along!

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ Friedrich Kluge (1883), “sonst”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891

Further reading

Plautdietsch

Adverb

sonst

  1. otherwise
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