For clarification: in English pair = 2; few = 3; several = 4; handful = 5; half dozen = 6. - countable with one or two hands? Sprachwissen So if you're saying "Gib mir doch bitte mal ein paar Zettel. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our German Language Stack Exchange is a bilingual question and answer site for speakers of all levels who want to share and increase their knowledge of the German language. Newsletter Würde mich interessieren :) German Language Stack Exchange works best with JavaScript enabled Könntest du noch angeben, woher du diese Definition (2 bis 6 Dinge) hast?

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Nor do I accept the general idea, that 'paar' means neccessaraly 'more than 3'.unknown, agree, yet I neither made any of those three points.You would always use "Ein paar Zettel" (lower case), because Zettel don't come in pairs. Ja ich habe abgenommen, nicht ganz freiwillig , aber die Hygienebedingungen in Thailand sind nicht ganz dieselben wie in Deutschland und leider hat’s auch mich erwischt. Wie viel Sex ist „normal“?

At least I never heard of male or female Zettel. If you take "ein paar Handschuhe" out of a box of 100 latex gloves (and if you ever did, you know) it usually are "ein paar", not "ein Paar".Well the "Ein paar Sekunden noch" does not directly mean more than 3 to 10 or so seconds BUT because it is obvious that 10 seconds will never be enough, the receiver knows about the satiric nature of the figure -- and automatically knows that it might be 100 seconds he/she has to wait. Rechtschreibregeln So, hearing "ein paar Kekse" will never be interpreted as "ein Paar Kekse".So, the usage is different from "couple" which I would have misinterpreted accordingly up until now.Einerseits ist in der Wortbedeutung nie die Rede von ZweiUnd was interessanter sein mag, ist der Zusammenhang zwischen "ein Paar" (also zwei zusammengehörige Dinge/Personen) und "ein paar" (im Sinne von einige):Herkunft: mittelhochdeutsch pā̆r, ursprünglich ungenauer Gebrauch von ↑Paar für eine kleinere AnzahlEs ist also gut möglich, dass früher mit "ein paar" Dingen "ungefähr zwei" gemeint war.Wie du aus den anderen Antworten sehen kannst, ist dem aber nicht mehr so.One point that has not been mentioned yet is that "ein paar" does not necessarily describe an I would interpret "ein paar" to mean 2-3, maybe 4. schwaches Verb – sich an einem bestimmten Ort für … ", you're requesting a few more, but not all of them (probably leaving enough for everyone else).The English.Stackexchange comment was probably as mistake due to "Paar" and "paar", as the others have explained already.However, I don't think there is a general rule of how many "ein paar..." are. Ein Paar sind ganz genau zwei seiner Art. In most cases, "paar" means some.

Is a concrete number much more appropriate for a small number:If you know how many guests there are - maybe 4 or 6 - you would normally tell the exact number. Gegenstand eines Gesprächs; besprochenes Ereignis It really depends on the context and on the person saying it.
By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. A family father says:As you can see in the most cases it means "about five".I believe “ein paar“ is a very ambiguous term. Wie funktioniert der Umrechner von Tage (d)? "Paar" is not always male/female. Zeitraum etwa zwischen Sonnenaufgang und … 2a. share | improve this answer | follow | … Über die Duden-Sprachberatung ... Ihre Suche im Wörterbuch nach ein paar Tage ergab folgende Treffer: Zurück zur bereichsübergreifenden Suche. Having spent the last ten years on a pacific island, I wonder if the usage of "ein paar" in German is shifting towards "just two".Um Gottes willen, nein.

"Hello Jaschar, willkommen auf German SE! Is there really a reason to draw a line between 10 and 11? Anybody can ask a question Ein Paar sind ganz genau zwei seiner Art. FITBOOK verrät, was Haferflocken so wertvoll macht und warum jeder morgens ein paar Löffel davon essen sollte. ^^For example, I'm always a bit too late so if I say:It could easily mean "up to 30 minutes". ", I would not expect exactly two. "My first impulse would have been to write "about 5" or "a handful", though.The purpose of this question is to establish whether or not in today's usage in German, "ein paar" is leaning towards "just two" or whether it is more likely to mean "three or more".The answer is easier, it is absolutely more likely "three or more".

Stack Exchange network consists of 177 Q&A communities including But the language does not tell that -- it´s the context. Zeitraum von Mitternacht bis Mitternacht, … 2b.