Words, Terms & Phrases: Homonyms: "weiß" versus "weiß"

"weiß" is a so-called homonym, i.e. a word that is said or spelled the same way as another word but has a different meaning. Study the two photos and their captions underneath. What are the two different meanings of "weiß"? Fill in the gap, then press [Check] to see if you were correct. Use the [Hint] button if you need help.


"Wer ist das?" - "Ich weiß nicht."

"Wirklich nicht? Das ist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe."

Schnee ist weiß.

 
"weiß" in the phrase "Ich weiß nicht." is a verb. It's the ich-form in the present tense of the German verb "wissen" (to know). This is one of the few irregular verbs in German. You will learn the other verb-forms of "wissen" in Level A1 Higher.
"weiß" in this sentence is not a verb but an . Its English equivalent is "".
         

 

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Tip: If you don't belong to the lucky few who possess a photographic memory, write down what you learnt while doing this exercise.                  

photo of Goethe: (CCO Creative Commons): https://pixabay.com/en/goethe-weimar-atmosphere-mood-1826562/

other photo: © Dagmar Fischer