Ways to say it
| German | Note |
|---|---|
| anekdotische Belege | masculine, plural |
| sporadische Hinweise | |
| vereinzelte Belege | feminine, plural |
The term refers to examples. While anekdotische Belege is common, the direct loan-translation anekdotische Evidenz is frequently used in academic or scientific contexts to describe the concept of anecdotal evidence.
What does it mean word for word?
The term anekdotische Belege is composed of the adjective anekdotisch (anecdotal) and the noun Belege (proofs or evidence).
Which one should you use?
vereinzelte Belege is often used as a synonym for anecdotal evidence when emphasizing that the evidence consists of disconnected, single instances rather than a pattern. This phrase translates to "isolated pieces of evidence".
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form of anekdotische Belege is anekdotischer Beleg in the nominative case, or anekdotischen Beleg when used in the accusative case.
Did you know?
- While Evidenz in English refers to available proof, in traditional German it often describes something that is 'self-evident' or obvious. This can cause confusion in scientific papers where anekdotische Evidenz is used as a modern loan-translation.
- In German, the noun Beleg is often used to mean a physical receipt or a voucher in a business context, whereas in English, 'evidence' is more abstract.
- The word anekdotisch relates to the Greek 'anekdota', meaning 'things not published'. Historically, these were private stories shared outside of official records, which is why they are viewed as less reliable evidence today.
Examples in context
- Ich kann meine Aussage mit anekdotischen Belegen untermauern.I can support my statement with anecdotal evidence.
- Die Diskussion wurde von anekdotischen Beweismitteln dominiert.The discussion was dominated by anecdotal evidence.
Example conversation
Julia and Felix are discussing a new health trend.
- JuliaMein Onkel sagt, dass dieser Tee wirklich hilft.My uncle says that this tea really helps.
- FelixDas sind jedoch nur anekdotische Belege, Julia.However, those are just anecdotal evidence, Julia.
- JuliaGlaubst du nicht an persönliche Erfahrungen?Do you not believe in personal experiences?
- FelixIch brauche wissenschaftliche Daten, Felix braucht Beweise.I need scientific data, Felix needs proof.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “anecdotal evidence” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
