German word

Erzählung

Pronunciation

IPA/ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːlʊŋ/

Meaning

  • feminine nounstory

Example

Er hat mir gestern eine spannende Erzählung erzählt.

He told me an exciting story yesterday.

Illustration for Erzählung (story)

More examples

Ich habe neulich eine spannende Erzählung gehört.

I recently heard an exciting story.

Core concept

A sequence of events shaped into a spoken account or a crafted piece of prose.

Common phrases

  • eine Erzählung erzählen

    tell a story

  • eine Erzählung hören

    hear a story

  • eine Erzählung zusammenfassen

    summarize a story

Similar words

Geschichte: A broad term for a narrative or an event in the past.
Anekdote: A brief, entertaining story based on something that really happened.
Erlebnis: A concrete event that someone has experienced personally.

Definition in German

Eine mündlich oder schriftlich wiedergegebene Darstellung von Ereignissen oder Erlebnissen, oft in erzählender Form.

Word origin

Erzählung is formed from erzählen with the suffix -ung, which marks an action or its result.

Usage tips

  • Erzählung is feminine, so its basic forms are die Erzählung and die Erzählungen.

Other meanings

  • narrativenoun
  • short storynoun

Related words

Word lists with this word