{"id":8013,"date":"2016-12-14T12:00:25","date_gmt":"2016-12-14T12:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=8013"},"modified":"2016-12-14T12:00:25","modified_gmt":"2016-12-14T12:00:25","slug":"the-german-word-los","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/the-german-word-los\/","title":{"rendered":"The German Word ‘Los’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag! There are many \u2018little\u2019 German words that often interest language learners, and have them asking questions. Why? Because some of these \u2018little words\u2019 have different meanings, or can be used either on their own or as part of other words. For this reason they are often confusing at first, which is why, when I come across such a word, I try my best to break it down and make it less scary. This post <\/a>on the German word NICHT<\/strong> is one such example. Today we\u2019re looking at the curious German word that is LOS.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Los<\/strong> is a word on its own, and you\u2019ll see it as part of other words, too. The way it is used varies a lot.<\/p>\n


\nLos on its own<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cLos.\u201d<\/p>\n

If anyone ever says \u201cLos\u201d (on its own) to you, they\u2019re saying \u201cGo\u201d or \u201cLet\u2019s go\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cKomm schon! Los!\u201d
\nCome on! Let\u2019s go!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They may also say \u201cLos geht\u2019s!\u201d<\/strong> which means \u201cOff we go\u201d, \u201cLet\u2019s go\u201d or \u201cLet\u2019s start\u201d. It basically indicates the start\/commencement of something.<\/p>\n

What’s wrong?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Also, if you\u2019re in a grump, you may get asked \u201cWas ist los?\u201d<\/strong> which means \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong\/what\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, if there is commotion in the street somewhere, you may get asked “Was ist denn hier los?”<\/strong> which means “What’s going on here?”<\/p>\n

In this context, the word ‘los’ is used to indicate that something is ‘going on’ or ‘happening’.<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

Das Los \u2013 Los as a noun<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n

You might hear people ask for a Los in a newsagent\u2019s or at a fairground. Das Los (capitalised, as it\u2019s a noun) is a raffle\/lottery ticket! Das Los can also mean \u2018destiny\u2019, \u2018fate\u2019 or \u2018luck\u2019 (which ties in with the raffle ticket thing, I guess).<\/p>\n

\"Raffle<\/a>

das Los. Photo by howardlake on flickr.com under a CC license (CC BY-SA 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Los at the start of words<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Los sometimes attaches itself to the front of verbs.<\/strong> Take the verbs fahren (to go\/drive)<\/em> and lassen (to leave)<\/em>. With los on the front of these verbs, they become:<\/p>\n

fahren (to drive\/go) \u2013 losfahren (to set off\/drive off)
\nlassen (to let\/leave) \u2013 loslassen (to let go)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These are separable verbs, so they\u2019d look like this in use, with the \u2018los\u2019 on its own:<\/p>\n

\u201cIch fahre bald los<\/strong>\u201d \u2013 \u201cI\u2019m setting off soon\u201d
\n\u201cLass mich los<\/strong>\u201d \u2013 \u201cLet me go\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Without the \u2018los\u2019 part, these sentences would look like this:<\/p>\n

\u201cIch fahre bald\u201d \u2013 \u201cI\u2019m driving\/going soon\u201d
\n\u201eLass mich\u201c \u2013 \u201eLeave me (alone)\u201c<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

See the difference? When you add ‘los’, it indicates movement<\/em> or commencement<\/em> of something (I hope this makes sense, as it’s quite tricky to explain).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Los at the end of words<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Los can also be found on the end<\/strong> of many words. Like this, it is the equivalent of adding the English \u2018-less\u2019<\/strong> onto the end of words. An easy way to remember this is that the word ‘los’ looks like the English word ‘loss’!<\/p>\n

Here are some examples:<\/p>\n

der Rat \u2013 advice, council
\nratlos \u2013helpless, clueless<\/strong><\/p>\n

der Sinn \u2013 sense, logic, meaning
\nsinnlos \u2013 pointless, senseless, meaningless<\/strong><\/p>\n

die Farbe \u2013 colour
\nfarblos \u2013 colourless<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"2016-02-06-Cologne<\/a>

Ein farbloses Foto – a colourless photo. Photo by danielfuss on flickr.com under a CC license (CC BY-SA 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

All in all, it’s safe to say that Los is a rather versatile little German word! Next time you see the word \u2018los\u2019 in a German word (or on its own), see if you can figure out what it means in that context. Any questions, let me know in the comments. \ud83d\ude42 Do you know any other ways of using the word ‘los’?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bis bald!<\/p>\n

Constanze<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Guten Tag! There are many \u2018little\u2019 German words that often interest language learners, and have them asking questions. Why? Because some of these \u2018little words\u2019 have different meanings, or can be used either on their own or as part of other words. For this reason they are often confusing at first, which is why, when…<\/p>\n

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