zwar

German

Etymology

From Middle High German zwāre, contraction of ze wāre (“verily, indeed”), from Old High German zi wāre (8th c.). Equivalent to zu + wahr. The concessive use developed first in cognate Middle Low German twâre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tsvaːr/, [t͡sʋaː(ɐ̯)], [t͡sʋaːʁ]

• Audio:

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• Audio:

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Adverb

zwar

1. Signals a following contrary clause, which is usually introduced with aber (“but”), stressing that the speaker is aware of the contradiction, but that it does not invalidate the statement.
   • Franz Kafka, Amerika:

     Sie bewunderten zwar das Schauspiel, aber man erkannte doch, daß sie enttäuscht waren.

     They were admiring the play, but you could see they were disappointed.

   Dieser Rock ist zwar teuer, aber ich kaufe ihn trotzdem.

   This skirt is admittedly expensive, but I’ll buy it anyway.

   Wir hatten zwar viele Probleme, aber letztlich hat es sich auf jeden Fall gelohnt.

   We did have a lot of problems, but in the end it was definitely worth it.

2. (in the form und zwar) namely

   Aber dann hab ich mir doch eins gekauft, und zwar das blaue.

   But then I bought one anyway, namely the blue one.

   Er hat was Tolles gemacht! Und zwar hat er geschmacksfreies Eis erfunden.

   He did something great! Namely he invented taste-free ice cream.

3. (in the form und zwar) Intensifies a request or command.

   Du musst gehen, und zwar sofort!

   You must go, right now!

Synonyms

• (zwar ... aber): allerdings, freilich, zugegebenermaßen

Derived terms

• und zwar

Further reading

• “zwar” in Duden online
• “zwar” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache