Schicksal
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German
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]17th century, from schicken + -sal, after now archaic Dutch schiksel (16th c.).
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]Schicksal n (strong, genitive Schicksals or Schicksales, plural Schicksale or (chiefly informal) Schicksäler)
- (uncountable) destiny, fate (irresistible power that predetermines events)
- (countable) someone's destiny, fate
- (countable) life story; the general conditions and main developments of a person's life; more often than in English used without any notion of predetermination
- Synonyms: Lebensweg, Lebensschicksal
- Das Buch beschreibt die Schicksale von zehn Frauen aus verschiedenen Gesellschaftsschichten im frühen 20. Jahrhundert.
- The book portrays the life stories of ten women from different social classes in the early 20th century.
Usage notes
[edit]- The normal plural is Schicksale. The form Schicksäler is more informal and sometimes slightly deprecative, e.g. expressing the notion that people exaggerate the bitterness of their fates. However, it is also attestable as an entirely neutral variant.
Declension
[edit]Declension of Schicksal [neuter, strong]
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | ein | das | Schicksal | die | Schicksale, Schicksäler2 |
| genitive | eines | des | Schicksals, Schicksales | der | Schicksale, Schicksäler2 |
| dative | einem | dem | Schicksal, Schicksale1 | den | Schicksalen, Schicksälern2 |
| accusative | ein | das | Schicksal | die | Schicksale, Schicksäler2 |
1Now rare, see notes.
2Chiefly informal.
Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “Schicksal” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “Schicksal” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “Schicksal” in Duden online
Schicksal on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia de
