German word

indes

Pronunciation

IPA/ɪnˈdɛs/

Meaning

  • conjunctionwhile

Example

Er lobt die Arbeit, indes kritisiert er oft Kleinigkeiten.

He praises the work, while he often criticizes minor details.

Illustration for indes (while)

More examples

Wir diskutierten lange, indes nahm sie Kontakt zu uns auf.

We discussed for a long time, while she got in touch with us.

Core concept

Two strands run side by side: one event continues in the same period while the second clause sets a different view against it.

Common phrases

  • indes nahm sie Kontakt auf

    while she got in touch

  • indes passierte nichts Wichtiges

    while nothing important happened

Similar words

aber: Connector linking a statement with an opposing point or different view.
doch: Connector that responds to a preceding point with opposition or surprise.
während: Connector linking two events that occur at the same time.
obwohl: Connector introducing a fact that holds despite the preceding circumstance.

Definition in German

Indes verbindet Sätze und kennzeichnet dabei entweder einen zeitlichen Gleichlauf oder einen inhaltlichen Gegensatz, ungefähr ‚einerseits … andererseits‘ bzw. ‚inzwischen‘.

Word origin

Indes comes from Middle High German indes and retains the older temporal sense 'in the meantime'; its conjunction use also developed a contrastive sense.

Usage tips

  • Indes is formal and more common in writing; in conversation, unterdessen usually suits the temporal sense, while hingegen or dagegen suits contrast.

Other meanings

  • butconjunction
  • meanwhileadverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word