Question
Updated on
28 Sep 2022
- English (UK)
-
German
Question about German
What does It mean when “mal” comes after a verb mean?
What does It mean when “mal” comes after a verb mean?
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- English (US) Near fluent
- German
There are multiple ways of using that, mostly in informal language.
I believe you mean phrases like:
"Sag mal..."
"Sieh mal (nach)..."
"Denk mal (nach)..."
These are just informal ways to say something. Most of the time, they are created by taking the root word/syllable (sagen -> sag; denken -> denk) and adding the word "Mal" (which comes from "Einmal", so 'once'/'one time').
Just for comparison, I'll take the upper examples again and make them formal;
"Sagen sie ..."
"Sehen sie ..."
"Denken sie ..."
Of course you'll need to change the 'sie' part if you're talking to friends or else it will sound weird, talking to them in honorifics.
When talking to friends, the most common and natural way is to just use the root word without the 'mal'. (That's just my opinion, everyone likes it different of course.)
This turned out longer than I intended, but I hope I could be of help.
- German
"Mal" is a very common particle that acts as a softener to a statement, especially for imperatives. "Sag mal" has a rather casual tone compared to just "Sag".
Basically you sound a little more casual/unintrusive when adding "mal". Examples:
- Ich schau mich gerade mal um.
- Hör mir mal bitte zu.
- Kannst du mir mal helfen?
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- English (UK)
- English (UK)

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