German word

geschweige

Pronunciation

IPA/gəˈʃvaɪ̯gə/

Meaning

  • conjunctionlet alone

Example

Er kann kaum laufen, geschweige denn rennen.

He can barely walk, let alone run.

Illustration for geschweige (let alone)

More examples

Ich habe kaum Zeit zum Essen, geschweige denn zum Sport.

I barely have time to eat, let alone exercise.

Core concept

A low bar is already out of reach, and a higher bar is even farther beyond reach.

Common phrases

  • geschweige denn

    let alone

Similar words

geschweige denn: Introduces an even more extreme case after a negative statement.
ganz zu schweigen von: Marks an additional case as even less possible than the one already rejected.
gar nicht zu reden von: Adds an extreme case that is likewise ruled out, strengthening the preceding negative.

Definition in German

Dient zur Steigerung einer Negation; sie fügt etwas noch weniger Zutreffendes hinzu, oft mit 'denn' verbunden.

Word origin

Geschweige is historically related to German schweigen and developed from an older expression meaning 'to remain silent' into a conjunction for an even less applicable case.

Usage tips

  • Geschweige normally appears in the fixed phrase 'geschweige denn', with denn introducing the more extreme second case.

Related words

  • Schweigensilencenoun
  • schweigendsilentadjective
  • verschweigenconcealverb

Word lists with this word