German Conversation · Level 85
59 words
German word
Novelle
Pronunciation
IPA/noˈvɛlə/
Meaning
- feminine nounnovella
Example
Er schreibt oft kurze Novellen.
He often writes brief novellas.
More examples
Im Literaturkreis haben wir gestern über eine Novelle diskutiert.
At the literary circle, we discussed a novella yesterday.
Core concept
A compact new development with a decisive turn, appearing either as a tightly focused story or as a targeted change to a law.
Common phrases
über eine Novelle diskutieren
discuss a novella
eine Novelle rezensieren
review a novella
Similar words
Roman: A full-length novel with broadly developed characters and events.
Kurzgeschichte: A short story capturing one event or scene.
Erzählung: A short narrative recounting events or experiences in sequence.
Gesetzesnovelle: A proposal to amend an existing law.
Definition in German
Novelle bezeichnet eine kürzere erzählende Prosa, die sich auf ein zentrales Ereignis mit klarer Wendung konzentriert.
Word origin
German Novelle came through Italian novella, meaning 'new thing' or 'short story', from Latin novellus, a diminutive of novus, 'new'; German later also used it for a legal revision.
Usage tips
- In literary use, Novelle is feminine, with die Novelle and the plural Novellen; German Roman usually means a full-length novel.
Other meanings
- amendmentnoun
Opposites
- Kurzgeschichteshort storynoun
Related words
- Novellistnovella writernoun
- novellistischnovella-styleadjective