sehr interessant
/zeːr ˌɪn.tə.ʁɛˈsant/word by word
The German phrase for "very interesting" is sehr interessant.
sehr interessant is used to describe something that attracts a lot of attention or curiosity.
Which one should you use?
While sehr interessant is the standard way to express this, you might encounter other variations depending on the intensity and social context. For instance, äußerst interessant means "extremely interesting," whereas Richtig interessant translates to "really interesting." You might also hear Mega interessant, which means "mega interesting," or Wahnsinnig spannend, which literally means "insanely thrilling."
How do you pronounce it?
/zeːr ˌɪn.tə.ʁɛˈsant/. The word has 5 syllables and the stress is on the 5th syllable.
Did you know?
- The word sehr used to mean 'sore' or 'injured' in Old High German. It shared a root with the English word 'sore', which is why it evolved from describing physical pain to expressing intensity.
- In German, the word interessant can be used to describe a person's character, but it often implies that the person is mysterious or perhaps even slightly suspicious, rather than just pleasant to talk to.
- In a professional German setting, saying Das ist interessant without an intensifier like sehr can sometimes be a coded way of saying something is actually quite uninteresting or questionable.
Examples in context
- Es ist sehr interessant.It's very interesting.This sentence is useful for saying "It's very interesting" using sehr interessant.Tatoeba #2513785 by Zaghawa, translation #1853743 by Spamster
- Das ist sehr interessant.That's very interesting.This sentence is useful for saying "That's very interesting" using sehr interessant.Tatoeba #2513784 by Zaghawa, translation #2251316 by CK
- Das war sehr interessant.That was very interesting.This sentence is useful for saying "That was very interesting" using sehr interessant.Tatoeba #9979320 by wolfgangth, translation #4015129 by CK
- Das Buch ist richtig interessant!The book is really interesting!
- 130 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lukas and Julia are discussing a new documentary at a cafe.
- LukasHast du die Dokumentation gesehen?Have you seen the documentary?
- JuliaJa, sie war sehr interessant.Yes, it was very interesting.
- LukasIch finde das Thema auch sehr interessant.I also find the topic very interesting.
- JuliaLukas, wir sollten sie uns nochmal ansehen.Lukas, we should watch it again.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (sehr, interessant) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries interessant, sehr, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
