Wortspiel nicht beabsichtigt
The English phrase "no pun intended" is expressed in German as Wortspiel nicht beabsichtigt.
A phrase used to indicate that a play on words in a statement was accidental.
Did you know?
- The word nicht traces its roots back to the Old High German 'niowiht', which originally combined 'never' with a word meaning 'creature' or 'being'.
- In German, instead of using this specific phrase, people often use the word unfreiwillig to describe a pun that happened 'unintentionally' or 'involuntarily'.
- While English has the specific noun 'pun', German uses the broader term Wortspiel to cover puns, double entendres and all forms of wordplay.
Example conversation
Sarah and Maximilian are talking about a broken clock.
- SarahDie Uhr ist komplett stehen geblieben.The clock has completely stopped.
- MaximilianDas ist wirklich eine Zeitverschwendung.That really is a waste of time.
- SarahWortspiel nicht beabsichtigt!No pun intended!
- MaximilianIch habe es trotzdem bemerkt, Sarah.I noticed it anyway, Sarah.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Wortspiel, nicht, CC BY-SA 4.0.
