Polyglot Dictionary

Vergissmeinnicht

/fɛɐ̯ˈɡɪsmaɪ̯nˌnɪçt/

das noun B2

der (masc.) die (fem.) das (neut.)

Underline = a spelling pattern that usually signals that gender.

N Register Neutral Era Current Frequency Common Domain General Tone Neutral

Forms

plural (same form)
die Vergissmeinnicht

Meaning

  1. forget-me-not (the flower)

    An entire imperative sentence frozen into a single noun — a rare pattern in German word-formation, and a delight when it happens.

    • Am Bach wachsen Vergissmeinnicht.

      Forget-me-nots grow by the stream.

N Category Thing Concreteness Concrete Animacy Inanimate Countability Countable Scope Individual

Made of

  • vergiss forget! (imperative of vergessen)
  • mein me (an old accusative form — modern German would say mich)
  • nicht not

Practice

1 What does Vergissmeinnicht mean?

2 Fill the gap: Am Bach wachsen ___.

3 Which fingerprint chart matches Vergissmeinnicht?

Usage notes

The middle piece, mein, is a fossil: it once worked as an accusative pronoun meaning "me," a usage that died out everywhere except inside this one flower name. A modern sentence with the same meaning would say vergiss mich nicht.

nouncompoundnatureunusual-formation

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