Ich schwör
The German phrase for 'on God' is Ich schwör.
Ich schwör is a slang expression used to emphasize that you are telling the truth or are serious about a statement. To add even more emphasis, you can expand the phrase to Ich schwör' auf alles, which means 'I swear on everything'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Ich schwör is a colloquial shortening commonly used in youth slang. For a more formal or standard way to say 'I swear', use the grammatically complete form Ich schwöre.
How does it change in a sentence?
In standard German, the full grammatically correct form of the slang Ich schwör is Ich schwöre.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid the literal translation Ich schwöre Gott for 'on God', as this is an error. Instead, use Ich schwör or Ich schwöre es dir to express sincerity.
Did you know?
- While Ich schwör is ubiquitous among youth, using it in a professional setting can be seen as a sign of low social status or lack of education due to its strong association with Kiezdeutsch, a multi-ethnic urban variety of German.
- The word ich shares an ancient root with the English word 'I', both tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European form *eǵh₂óm.
- While English speakers say 'on god', using the literal translation auf Gott schwören in German can sound like a solemn religious vow or a legal oath rather than casual slang.
Examples in context
- Alter, ich schwörDude, I swear
- Bei Gott, ich versichere Ihnen, dass ich die Wahrheit sage.By God, I assure you that I am telling the truth.
- Echt wahr, das Konzert war der Hammer!For real, the concert was amazing!
- Ich schwör, das war echt so.On god, it really was like that.
- Ich schwör, ich habe es nicht getan.On god, I didn't do it.
- Das Essen war der Hammer, ich schwör.The food was amazing, on god.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a difficult exam.
- LauraWar die Prüfung wirklich so schwer?Was the exam really that hard?
- MaximilianIch schwör, es war extrem schwer.On god, it was extremely hard.
- LauraEcht jetzt? Das ist ja krass.Really? That's crazy.
- MaximilianJa, ich bin mir ganz sicher.Yeah, I'm absolutely sure.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Ich, ich, CC BY-SA 4.0.
