German Conversation · Level 30
89 words
German word
recht
Pronunciation
IPA/ʁɛçt/
Meaning
- adverbpretty
Example
Das ist recht gut.
That is pretty good.
More examples
Das Hotel war recht teuer.
The hotel was pretty expensive.
Core concept
A moderate boost that makes a quality stand out without presenting it as extreme, as in recht gut.
Common phrases
recht gut
pretty good
recht teuer
pretty expensive
recht kalt
pretty cold
Similar words
ziemlich: Fairly, showing a moderately high degree in everyday conversation.
sehr: Very, showing an exceptionally high degree of a quality.
eher: Rather, showing a tendency toward one description over another.
Definition in German
Eine beachtliche, aber keine absolute Ausprägung kennzeichnet und in verneinten Formen oft eine abgeschwächte Negation ausdrückt
Word origin
German recht descends from Old High German reht, a Germanic word cognate with English right, and later acquired the modern degree sense from its adjectival base.
Usage tips
- With a positive adjective, recht often sounds less emphatic than sehr, so Das ist recht gut is weaker than Das ist sehr gut.