{"id":8366,"date":"2017-05-04T09:21:41","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T09:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=8366"},"modified":"2017-05-04T09:33:34","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T09:33:34","slug":"the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-weg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-weg\/","title":{"rendered":"The Curiosity of the German Word &#8220;Weg&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Wegisweg<\/em>. That is the Dutch word for Harry Potter&#8217;s Diagon Alley.\u00a0<em>Weg\u00a0<\/em>means &#8220;lane&#8221;, but also &#8220;away&#8221;. They sound exactly identical, though.\u00a0The same word, <em>weg<\/em>,\u00a0means the same both things in German. But they are pronounced differently. Why?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/x3-gSSJxRBs\" aria-label=\"Photo 1492086393392 4d7fc603473a\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter \"  width=\"533\" height=\"355\" \/ alt=\"Photo 1492086393392 4d7fc603473a\" src=\"https:\/\/images.unsplash.com\/photo-1492086393392-4d7fc603473a?ixlib=rb-0.3.5&amp;q=100&amp;fm=jpg&amp;crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;s=80a64a835ed1eb0173e5bdd41d7f0592\"><\/a>This is what\u00a0<em>weg\u00a0<\/em>sounds like:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-playlist wp-audio-playlist wp-playlist-light\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-current-item\"><\/div>\n\t\t<audio controls=\"controls\" preload=\"none\" width=\"640\"\n\t\t\t><\/audio>\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-next\"><\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-prev\"><\/div>\n\t<noscript>\n\t<ol>\n\t\t<li><a href='https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/05\/weg.mp3'>weg<\/a><\/li>\t<\/ol>\n\t<\/noscript>\n\t<script type=\"application\/json\" class=\"wp-playlist-script\">{\"type\":\"audio\",\"tracklist\":true,\"tracknumbers\":true,\"images\":true,\"artists\":true,\"tracks\":[{\"src\":\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/05\/weg.mp3\",\"type\":\"audio\/mpeg\",\"title\":\"weg\",\"caption\":\"\",\"description\":\"\\\"weg\\\". Released: 2017.\",\"meta\":{\"year\":\"2017\",\"length_formatted\":\"0:01\"},\"image\":{\"src\":\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/audio.svg\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64},\"thumb\":{\"src\":\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/audio.svg\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64}}]}<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\t\n<p>This is what <em>der\u00a0<\/em><em>Weg\u00a0<\/em>sounds like:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-playlist wp-audio-playlist wp-playlist-light\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-current-item\"><\/div>\n\t\t<audio controls=\"controls\" preload=\"none\" width=\"640\"\n\t\t\t><\/audio>\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-next\"><\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-prev\"><\/div>\n\t<noscript>\n\t<ol>\n\t\t<li><a href='https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/05\/der-Weg.mp3'>Weg<\/a><\/li>\t<\/ol>\n\t<\/noscript>\n\t<script type=\"application\/json\" class=\"wp-playlist-script\">{\"type\":\"audio\",\"tracklist\":true,\"tracknumbers\":true,\"images\":true,\"artists\":true,\"tracks\":[{\"src\":\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/05\/der-Weg.mp3\",\"type\":\"audio\/mpeg\",\"title\":\"Weg\",\"caption\":\"\",\"description\":\"\\\"der Weg\\\". Released: 2017.\",\"meta\":{\"year\":\"2017\",\"length_formatted\":\"0:01\"},\"image\":{\"src\":\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/audio.svg\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64},\"thumb\":{\"src\":\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/audio.svg\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64}}]}<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\t\n<p>Ok, I already hear you say: But Sten, there is a difference here! Granted,\u00a0the difference is that the <em>Substantiv\u00a0<\/em>(noun)\u00a0<em>der Weg\u00a0<\/em>(&#8220;the lane&#8221;) starts with a capital <em>W\u00a0<\/em>and the <em>Adverb\u00a0<\/em>(adverb)\u00a0<em>weg\u00a0<\/em>(away) does not. But a capital\u00a0<em>W\u00a0<\/em>should not change pronunciation! And normally in a conversation, context reveals which meaning applies.<\/p>\n<p>So why this different pronunciation?<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>As with many curiosities in the German language, this different pronunciation is rooted in history. Both\u00a0<em>Weg\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<em>weg\u00a0<\/em>come from the same Indo-Germanic root. In the 8th century already, the form\u00a0<em>wec<\/em> meant &#8220;trace&#8221;. Only in the 12th century, the word\u00a0<em>enwec\u00a0<\/em>appeared, which meant\u00a0<em>auf dem Weg\u00a0<\/em>(on the way), branched off of the noun\u00a0<em>wec<\/em>. Later, branched off of\u00a0<em>enwec\u00a0<\/em>again came\u00a0<em>wec<\/em>.\u00a0Over the years, the word <em>wec<\/em>\u00a0would also be spelled\u00a0<em>weck<\/em>,\u00a0<em>wegk<\/em> or simply\u00a0<em>wek<\/em>. However, around the 15th century, the\u00a0<em>Substantiv\u00a0<\/em>(<em>der Weg<\/em>), was overwhelmingly spelled as it is today &#8211;\u00a0<em>der Weg<\/em>. Because of the long\u00a0<em>e<\/em>, this spelling made most sense for the noun.<\/p>\n<p>For the adverb, the forms\u00a0<em>wegck, wegk, weck\u00a0<\/em>were also used. This also made sense for its pronunciation: multiple consonants at the end of the word suggested a short\u00a0<em>e<\/em>. So everything was alright! We had\u00a0<em>Weg\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<em>wegk<\/em>. Done.<\/p>\n<p>But&#8230; No. It is German after all, so\u00a0we cannot make things too simple!<\/p>\n<p>In the following centuries, things changed again. By the 17th century, the writing was yet again the same: <em>weg\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<em>Weg<\/em>.\u00a0Especially Luther, who used\u00a0<em>weg\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<em>Weg\u00a0<\/em>in his Bible translation, gave this writing a lot of weight.<\/p>\n<p>The pronunciation was different early on already. This is probably due to the difference in meaning and the kind of word (<em>Adverb\u00a0<\/em>vs.\u00a0<em>Substantiv<\/em>). Personally, I find that a weak explanation, because the Dutch pronounce both <em>weg<\/em> exactly the same, even though they also have a difference in meaning and it is also an adverb and noun. Pronouncing it the same makes sense. So really, why the Germans do such a curious thing cannot really be explained!<\/p>\n<h2>Problematic?<\/h2>\n<div style=\"width: 625px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/pKeF6Tt3c08\" aria-label=\"Photo 1483213097419 365e22f0f258\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"410\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/images.unsplash.com\/photo-1483213097419-365e22f0f258?ixlib=rb-0.3.5&amp;q=100&amp;fm=jpg&amp;crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;s=f2528df5e62121982355f21a48e0db52\"><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wegweiser (signpost). How would you pronounce that word?<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Is it problematic that there are two pronunciations for a word that is written the same? Well, usually, this same writing but different pronunciation poses few problems, because the <em>Weg\u00a0<\/em>is written with a capital, where the adverb is written with a lowercase\u00a0<em>w<\/em> (<em>weg<\/em>). So then you know how to pronounce it when you read something.<\/p>\n<p>But what about cases where the adverb is combined with another\u00a0<em>Substantiv<\/em>? For example,\u00a0<em>Weggang\u00a0<\/em>(departure) or\u00a0<em>Wegfall\u00a0<\/em>(discontinuation) are pronounced with a short\u00a0<em>e<\/em>, yet\u00a0<em>weg\u00a0<\/em>is written with a capital here. Listen to <em>Wegfall<\/em> below.\u00a0You would find the same problem if\u00a0<em>weg\u00a0<\/em>is at the beginning of a sentence:\u00a0<em>Weg ist der Mann<\/em>! (Away is the man!)<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-playlist wp-audio-playlist wp-playlist-light\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-current-item\"><\/div>\n\t\t<audio controls=\"controls\" preload=\"none\" width=\"640\"\n\t\t\t><\/audio>\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-next\"><\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-prev\"><\/div>\n\t<noscript>\n\t<ol>\n\t\t<li><a href='https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/05\/Wegfall.mp3'>Wegfall<\/a><\/li>\t<\/ol>\n\t<\/noscript>\n\t<script type=\"application\/json\" class=\"wp-playlist-script\">{\"type\":\"audio\",\"tracklist\":true,\"tracknumbers\":true,\"images\":true,\"artists\":true,\"tracks\":[{\"src\":\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/05\/Wegfall.mp3\",\"type\":\"audio\/mpeg\",\"title\":\"Wegfall\",\"caption\":\"\",\"description\":\"\\\"Wegfall\\\". Released: 2017.\",\"meta\":{\"year\":\"2017\",\"length_formatted\":\"0:01\"},\"image\":{\"src\":\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/audio.svg\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64},\"thumb\":{\"src\":\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/audio.svg\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64}}]}<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\t\n<p>The same kind of problems arrive when\u00a0<em>der Weg\u00a0<\/em>becomes part of an adjective, for example:\u00a0<em>weglos<\/em>\u00a0(pathless),\u00a0<em>wegkundig\u00a0<\/em>(knowledgeable about the way).<\/p>\n<p>And here is a tricky one:\u00a0<em>wegweisen<\/em>. Pronounce it!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This is what it actually sounds like:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-playlist wp-audio-playlist wp-playlist-light\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-current-item\"><\/div>\n\t\t<audio controls=\"controls\" preload=\"none\" width=\"640\"\n\t\t\t><\/audio>\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-next\"><\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-prev\"><\/div>\n\t<noscript>\n\t<ol>\n\t\t<li><a href='https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/05\/wegweisen.mp3'>wegweisen<\/a><\/li>\t<\/ol>\n\t<\/noscript>\n\t<script type=\"application\/json\" class=\"wp-playlist-script\">{\"type\":\"audio\",\"tracklist\":true,\"tracknumbers\":true,\"images\":true,\"artists\":true,\"tracks\":[{\"src\":\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/05\/wegweisen.mp3\",\"type\":\"audio\/mpeg\",\"title\":\"wegweisen\",\"caption\":\"\",\"description\":\"\\\"wegweisen\\\". Released: 2017.\",\"meta\":{\"year\":\"2017\",\"length_formatted\":\"0:01\"},\"image\":{\"src\":\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/audio.svg\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64},\"thumb\":{\"src\":\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/audio.svg\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64}}]}<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\t\n<p>Why is it short here? Because you &#8220;send somebody away&#8221; &#8211;\u00a0<em>wegschicken<\/em>. If you want to\u00a0show somebody the way, you have to\u00a0<em>jemanden den\u00a0<\/em><em>Weg weisen<\/em>. Did you get it right?<\/p>\n<p>By the way: The signpost in the picture, that is a\u00a0<em>Wegweiser\u00a0<\/em>&#8211; a &#8220;way shower&#8221;, and therefore pronounced with a long\u00a0<em>e<\/em>:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-playlist wp-audio-playlist wp-playlist-light\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-current-item\"><\/div>\n\t\t<audio controls=\"controls\" preload=\"none\" width=\"640\"\n\t\t\t><\/audio>\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-next\"><\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-prev\"><\/div>\n\t<noscript>\n\t<ol>\n\t\t<li><a href='https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/05\/Wegweiser.mp3'>Wegweiser<\/a><\/li>\t<\/ol>\n\t<\/noscript>\n\t<script type=\"application\/json\" class=\"wp-playlist-script\">{\"type\":\"audio\",\"tracklist\":true,\"tracknumbers\":true,\"images\":true,\"artists\":true,\"tracks\":[{\"src\":\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/05\/Wegweiser.mp3\",\"type\":\"audio\/mpeg\",\"title\":\"Wegweiser\",\"caption\":\"\",\"description\":\"\\\"Wegweiser\\\". Released: 2017.\",\"meta\":{\"year\":\"2017\",\"length_formatted\":\"0:01\"},\"image\":{\"src\":\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/audio.svg\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64},\"thumb\":{\"src\":\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/audio.svg\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64}}]}<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\t\n<p><strong>I hope this post was helpful for you to improve your German! Is there a German word that you find curious? Let me know in the comments, and I can make a post about it!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wegisweg. That is the Dutch word for Harry Potter&#8217;s Diagon Alley.\u00a0Weg\u00a0means &#8220;lane&#8221;, but also &#8220;away&#8221;. They sound exactly identical, though.\u00a0The same word, weg,\u00a0means the same both things in German. But they are pronounced differently. Why? This is what\u00a0weg\u00a0sounds like: This is what der\u00a0Weg\u00a0sounds like: Ok, I already hear you say: But Sten, there is a&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-weg\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,8],"tags":[503854,935,95131,95066,473457,551768],"class_list":["post-8366","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-culture","category-language","tag-curious-words","tag-german","tag-german-language","tag-history-2","tag-language-history","tag-pronunciation"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 5.0.0.1 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wegisweg. That is the Dutch word for Harry Potter&#039;s Diagon Alley. Weg means &quot;lane&quot;, but also &quot;away&quot;. They sound exactly identical, though. The same word, weg, means the same both things in German. But they are pronounced differently. Why? This is what weg sounds like: This is what der Weg sounds like: Ok, I already hear you say: But Sten, there is a\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"max-image-preview:large\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sten\"\/>\n\t<meta name=\"keywords\" content=\"curious,words,alien,fremd,w\u00f6rter,wort,strange,word,difference,aussprache,pronunciation,unterschied,aussprechen,ausgesprochen,anders,sagen,andere,schreiben,art,way,method,say,,curious words,german,german language,history,language history\" \/>\n\t<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-weg\/\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"generator\" content=\"All in One SEO (AIOSEO) 5.0.0.1\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"German Language Blog | Language and Culture of the German-Speaking World\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Curiosity of the German Word \u201cWeg\u201d | German Language Blog\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wegisweg. That is the Dutch word for Harry Potter&#039;s Diagon Alley. Weg means &quot;lane&quot;, but also &quot;away&quot;. They sound exactly identical, though. The same word, weg, means the same both things in German. But they are pronounced differently. Why? This is what weg sounds like: This is what der Weg sounds like: Ok, I already hear you say: But Sten, there is a\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-weg\/\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-05-04T09:21:41+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-05-04T09:33:34+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"The Curiosity of the German Word \u201cWeg\u201d | German Language Blog\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Wegisweg. That is the Dutch word for Harry Potter&#039;s Diagon Alley. Weg means &quot;lane&quot;, but also &quot;away&quot;. They sound exactly identical, though. The same word, weg, means the same both things in German. But they are pronounced differently. Why? This is what weg sounds like: This is what der Weg sounds like: Ok, I already hear you say: But Sten, there is a\" \/>\n\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"aioseo-schema\">\n\t\t\t{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-weg\\\/#article\",\"name\":\"The Curiosity of the German Word \\u201cWeg\\u201d | German Language Blog\",\"headline\":\"The Curiosity of the German Word &#8220;Weg&#8221;\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/author\\\/sritterfeld\\\/#author\"},\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/images.unsplash.com\\\/photo-1492086393392-4d7fc603473a?ixlib=rb-0.3.5&amp;q=100&amp;fm=jpg&amp;crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;s=80a64a835ed1eb0173e5bdd41d7f0592\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-weg\\\/#articleImage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-04T09:21:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-04T09:33:34+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"commentCount\":7,\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-weg\\\/#webpage\"},\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-weg\\\/#webpage\"},\"articleSection\":\"Culture, Language, Curious Words, german, German language, history, Language History, pronunciation\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-weg\\\/#breadcrumblist\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german#listItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/category\\\/culture\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Culture\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/category\\\/culture\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Culture\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/category\\\/culture\\\/\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-weg\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"The Curiosity of the German Word &#8220;Weg&#8221;\"},\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german#listItem\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-weg\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The Curiosity of the German Word &#8220;Weg&#8221;\",\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/category\\\/culture\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Culture\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"German Language Blog\",\"description\":\"Language and Culture of the German-Speaking World\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/author\\\/sritterfeld\\\/#author\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/author\\\/sritterfeld\\\/\",\"name\":\"Sten\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-weg\\\/#authorImage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b3a4e8ee5910033f7b52dfe07a4fdc0de4c1b8644e4e616d363e620496f2a953?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"width\":96,\"height\":96,\"caption\":\"Sten\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-weg\\\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.transparent.com\\\/german\\\/the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-weg\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Curiosity of the German Word \\u201cWeg\\u201d | German Language Blog\",\"description\":\"Wegisweg. That is the Dutch word for Harry Potter's Diagon Alley. Weg means \\\"lane\\\", but also \\\"away\\\". They sound exactly identical, though. The same word, weg, means the same both things in German. But they are pronounced differently. Why? 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