German Word of the Week
dochIf one German word trips up every English speaker, it’s doch. It’s tiny, it’s everywhere, and English has no single word for its most famous job: contradicting a negative. Master doch and your German instantly sounds more natural.
What it means
1. “Yes it is!” — contradicting a negative. When someone says something isn’t so, doch flips it back to positive. „Du magst kein Bier.“ — „Doch!“ means “You don’t like beer.” — “Yes I do!”
2. A friendly nudge in requests and commands. Dropped into an imperative, doch softens it into a warm suggestion: „Komm doch mit!“ = “Do come along!” — an invitation, not an order.
3. “…after all / …yet” in statements. It can signal that something happened against expectation: „Er kam doch.“ = “He came after all.”
In real sentences
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Doch, das stimmt!
Yes, that’s true! (contradicting a “no”)
Setz dich doch.
Do sit down. (friendly, welcoming)
Ich dachte, er kommt nicht, aber er kam doch.
I thought he wasn’t coming, but he came after all.
Das ist doch klar!
That’s obvious, isn’t it! (adds emphasis)
Word family
| German | English |
|---|---|
| doch mal | go on and… / just… (softens a request) |
| oder doch? | or is it, actually? (second-guessing) |
| nicht doch! | oh don’t! / no, no! |
| Ach, doch! | Oh, actually — yes! |
Why doch feels like magic
English has no one-word comeback to a negative. If a friend insists “You didn’t call me,” you need a whole sentence: “Yes, I did!” German just says „Doch!“ — one syllable meaning “on the contrary, yes.” Once you start hearing it, you’ll wish English had it too.
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