Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes Benz in German is written Mercedes-Benz, the name of the German brand of luxury cars and vehicles.
In casual conversation German speakers usually call the brand just Mercedes.
How does it change in a sentence?
When it refers to a car, the name takes the masculine article, as in der Mercedes.
What mistakes should you avoid?
In German the two names are joined with a hyphen, Mercedes-Benz.
Did you know?
- The name Mercedes did not come from the company founder, but from the daughter of a businessman named Emil Jellinek, who helped market the early cars.
- Even though the brand is a symbol of German engineering, the linguistic root of the first half of the name, Mercedes, means 'mercy' or 'grace' in Spanish.
Examples in context
- Ich träume von einem Mercedes Benz.I dream of a Mercedes Benz.
- Mein Vater fährt einen Mercedes Benz.My father drives a Mercedes Benz.
- Ich wünsche mir einen Mercedes-Benz.I wish for a Mercedes-Benz.
- Sie fährt einen neuen Mercedes-Benz.She drives a new Mercedes-Benz.
Example conversation
Felix and Hannah are looking at cars in a parking lot.
- FelixSchau mal, das ist ein schöner Mercedes-Benz.Look, that is a beautiful Mercedes-Benz.
- HannahJa, die Farbe sieht toll aus.Yes, the color looks great.
- FelixIch wollte mir immer einen Mercedes-Benz kaufen.I always wanted to buy a Mercedes-Benz.
- HannahDann musst du mehr sparen, Felix.Then you have to save more, Felix.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Mercedes-Benz, CC BY-SA 4.0.
