Stille Nacht
/ˈʃtɪlə naxt/word by word
The English phrase "silent night" is translated into German as Stille Nacht.
Stille Nacht is the standard German translation for the title of the famous Christmas carol "Silent Night".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the adjective stille (silent or still) and the noun Nacht (night).
Did you know?
- The first performance of Stille Nacht used two guitars because the church organ was broken.
- The lyrics of Stille Nacht were written by a priest and the music by a schoolteacher in the village of Oberndorf bei Salzburg in 1818.
- While 'silent' in English often implies a lack of noise, the German stille can also describe a state of profound internal peace. It carries a connotation of serenity that goes beyond the simple absence of an acoustic signal.
Examples in context
- „Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht“ wurde von der UNESCO im Jahre 2011 zum „immateriellen Kulturerbe“ ernannt."Silent Night" was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011.This sentence is useful for learning about the UNESCO status of Stille Nacht.Tatoeba #6554419 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #6554414 by Hybrid
- Vier meiner Lieblingsweihnachtslieder sind „Stille Nacht“, „Joy to the World“, „The First Noel“ und „Away in the Manger“.Four of my favorite Christmas carols are "Silent Night," "Joy to the World," "The First Noel" and "Away in the Manger."This sentence is useful for seeing Stille Nacht used in a list of favorite Christmas carols.Tatoeba #3497932 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #684586 by CK
- Wir singen heute Abend „Stille Nacht“.We are singing "Stille Nacht" this evening.
Example conversation
Felix and Laura are practicing Christmas songs together.
- FelixWelches Lied möchtest du zuerst spielen?Which song would you like to play first?
- LauraIch würde gerne Stille Nacht spielen.I would like to play Silent Night.
- FelixDas ist eine sehr schöne Wahl, Laura.That is a very lovely choice, Laura.
- LauraDanke, Felix. Fangen wir jetzt an?Thank you, Felix. Shall we start now?
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (Stille, Nacht) and can differ in connected speech.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
