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German
Etymology
From Middle High German zwāre, contraction of ze wāre (“verily, indeed”), from Old High German zi wāre (8th c.). Equivalent to zu + wahr. The concessive use developed first in cognate Middle Low German twâre.
Pronunciation
Adverb
zwar
- Signals a following contrary clause, which is usually introduced with aber (“but”), stressing that the speaker is aware of the contradiction, but that it does not invalidate the statement.
- Franz Kafka, Amerika:
Sie bewunderten zwar das Schauspiel, aber man erkannte doch, daß sie enttäuscht waren.- They were admiring the play, but you could see they were disappointed.
Dieser Rock ist zwar teuer, aber ich kaufe ihn trotzdem.- This skirt is admittedly expensive, but I’ll buy it anyway.
Wir hatten zwar viele Probleme, aber letztlich hat es sich auf jeden Fall gelohnt.- We did have a lot of problems, but in the end it was definitely worth it.
- (in the form und zwar) namely
Aber dann hab ich mir doch eins gekauft, und zwar das blaue.- But then I bought one anyway, namely the blue one.
Er hat was Tolles gemacht! Und zwar hat er geschmacksfreies Eis erfunden.- He did something great! Namely he invented taste-free ice cream.
- (in the form und zwar) Intensifies a request or command.
Du musst gehen, und zwar sofort!- You must go, right now!
Synonyms
Derived terms
Further reading
- “zwar” in Duden online
- “zwar” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache