Grat
/ɡʁaːt/
The English word ridge is translated into German as Grat.
Grat refers to a chain of hills.
Meaning: chain of hills (noun)
Which one should you use?
Gebirgskamm is a formal way to refer to a ridge, literally translating to mountain ridge.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural of Grat is Grate.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɡʁaːt/
Did you know?
- A climber navigating a sharp Grat might use the term Gratwanderung, which literally means a 'ridge walk' but is commonly used to describe a precarious balancing act in a political or social situation.
- The term Gebirgskamm combines the word for mountain with Kamm, which is the German word for a hair comb.
- In German, Grat is a doublet of the word Gräte, which refers to a fish bone.
Examples in context
- Der Gebirgskamm erstreckt sich über viele Kilometer.The ridge extends over several kilometers.
- Vorsichtig balancierten sie entlang des schmalen Grats.Cautiously, they balanced along the narrow ridge.
- Wir wanderten über den Kamm des Hügels.We hiked along the ridge of the hill.
- Der Bergrücken erstreckt sich über das gesamte Bundesland.The ridge extends across the entire state.
- Der Grat ist sehr schmal.The ridge is very narrow.
- Wir wandern entlang des Grats.We are hiking along the ridge.
- Vom Grat aus sieht man die Täler.From the ridge, one can see the valleys.
Example conversation
Two hikers are standing near the top of a mountain.
- JuliaLukas, schau mal, wie der Grat hier aussieht!Lukas, look how the ridge looks here!
- LukasJa, Julia, der Ausblick vom Grat ist fantastisch.Yes, Julia, the view from the ridge is fantastic.
- JuliaSollen wir weiter über den Grat gehen?Should we continue walking over the ridge?
- LukasJa, lass uns den Weg entlanggehen.Yes, let's walk along the path.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry Grat, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Grat, CC BY-SA 4.0.
