German word

Anekdote

Pronunciation

IPA/anɛkˈdoːtə/

Meaning

  • feminine nounanecdote

Example

Er erzählte mehrere Anekdoten aus seiner Schulzeit.

He shared several anecdotes from his school days.

Illustration for Anekdote (anecdote)

More examples

Bei dem Abendessen teilte sie eine kurze Anekdote über ihre Reise.

At dinner, she shared a short anecdote about her trip.

Core concept

A brief scene from someone's life, retold so a small event gains a memorable point.

Common phrases

  • eine Anekdote erzählen

    tell an anecdote

  • eine Anekdote anbringen

    bring up an anecdote

Similar words

Erlebnis: A specific event or experience that someone personally lived through.
Bericht: A factual account describing what happened and how events unfolded.
Geschichte: A story that presents events or a person's actions in sequence.
Episode: A short scene or incident forming part of a larger series of events.

Definition in German

Kurze, erzählte Begebenheit über eine Person oder ein Ereignis, die zur Unterhaltung oder zum Nachdenken dient.

Word origin

Anekdote entered German through French anecdote from Greek anekdota, meaning 'unpublished things,' and came to denote a short account of a person or event.

Usage tips

  • The noun is feminine: die Anekdote, with the plural die Anekdoten formed by adding -n.

Opposites

Related words

  • anekdotischanecdotaladjective
  • Anekdotensammlungcollection of anecdotesnoun

Word lists with this word