When you say something and then immediately say it again in clearer words — "the deadline, that is, next Friday" — you are reformulating. When you blur the edges of a claim so you are not pinned to it — "it's sort of expensive" — you are hedging. German has a dense, distinctive set of markers for both moves, and two of them (beziehungsweise and irgendwie) are so frequent and so un-English that mastering them is a real B2 milestone. This page covers reformulation markers, hedges, and approximators, and explains the underlying job each one does in a sentence.
Reformulation: restating more precisely
A reformulation marker tells the listener "I'm about to say the same thing again, but better." The new version replaces or sharpens the old one. The two workhorses are das heißt and beziehungsweise.
das heißt (d.h.) — "that is, i.e."
Literally "that means," das heißt introduces an explanation or a more exact restatement of what you just said. It is the everyday equivalent of English "that is" or "i.e.," used in both speech and writing. The abbreviation d.h. (with periods) is standard in written German.
Wir treffen uns am Wochenende, das heißt am Samstag um drei.
We're meeting at the weekend, that is, on Saturday at three. ('das heißt' narrows 'weekend' to a precise time)
Die Lieferung erfolgt werktags, d.h. von Montag bis Freitag.
Delivery takes place on weekdays, i.e. from Monday to Friday. ('d.h.' written abbreviation, common in formal text)
Note that das heißt does not invert the verb after it — it introduces a fresh clause or phrase rather than occupying the Vorfeld of one. In speech it is often shortened to a quick heißt or das heißt used as a self-correction.
beziehungsweise (bzw.) — the connector with no English word
This is the one that has no clean English equivalent, and competitors routinely skip it. Beziehungsweise (abbreviated bzw.) packs three related jobs into one word:
- "or rather / or more precisely" — correcting or refining what you just said.
- "and respectively" — pairing items so each maps onto its counterpart.
- "or" — a precise, slightly formal "or" between two valid options.
Wir fahren am Montag bzw. Dienstag, je nachdem, wann du kannst.
We're travelling on Monday or Tuesday, depending on when you can. ('bzw.' = a careful 'or' between two options)
Anna und Tom kommen aus München bzw. Hamburg.
Anna and Tom come from Munich and Hamburg respectively. ('bzw.' maps each person to one city — the 'respectively' reading)
Das Formular muss vom Antragsteller bzw. von einem Bevollmächtigten unterschrieben werden.
The form must be signed by the applicant, or rather by an authorised representative. ('bzw.' = 'or, more precisely', narrowing the alternative)
The "respectively" reading deserves attention because English needs the trailing word respectively and careful ordering to express it, while German front-loads the whole relationship into one connector. Die Sieger der ersten bzw. zweiten Runde = "the winners of the first and second round respectively." This compactness is exactly why bzw. is everywhere in German technical, legal, and administrative prose — it is precise and saves words.
anders gesagt, genauer gesagt, sozusagen
These three are stylistic reformulators. Anders gesagt ("put differently") and genauer gesagt ("more precisely") signal a rewording. Sozusagen ("so to speak, as it were") flags that the words you chose are a loose or figurative fit, not a literal one — a built-in hedge on your own phrasing.
Er ist mein Chef, genauer gesagt der Chef meiner Abteilung.
He's my boss — more precisely, the head of my department. ('genauer gesagt' sharpens the first version)
Sie ist sozusagen das Gedächtnis der Firma — sie weiß einfach alles.
She's the company's memory, so to speak — she just knows everything. ('sozusagen' marks 'memory' as a figurative label)
Hedging: softening your commitment
A hedge weakens a statement so you are not fully on the hook for it. German hedges are heavily colloquial, and English speakers tend to under-use them, which can make spoken German sound blunter and more categorical than intended.
irgendwie — "somehow / kind of"
Irgendwie literally means "somehow" (the irgend- prefix = "some-, any-"; see the irgend- indefinite family). In casual speech it has ballooned into an all-purpose vagueness marker meaning roughly "kind of / sort of / in some way." It softens an adjective, a verb, or a whole claim.
Das Essen war irgendwie komisch — ich weiß auch nicht.
The food was kind of weird — I don't really know either. ('irgendwie' softens 'komisch' and hedges the judgment)
Ich hab irgendwie keine Lust mehr.
I somehow don't feel like it anymore. ('irgendwie' = vague, can't-quite-explain-why)
Because it is so easy to reach for, learners overuse it once they discover it. Treat it like English "kind of": one per sentence is plenty; three per sentence sounds like you cannot commit to anything.
quasi, gewissermaßen — "practically / as it were"
Quasi (from Latin, fully naturalised and very common in speech) means "practically, more or less, as good as." Gewissermaßen ("in a certain way, to a degree") is its slightly more formal cousin. Both hedge an identification: X is quasi Y = "X is basically Y, though not literally."
Er wohnt quasi nebenan — nur zwei Häuser weiter.
He lives practically next door — just two houses along. ('quasi' = as good as, not literally next door)
Damit ist die Frage gewissermaßen beantwortet.
With that, the question is in a sense answered. ('gewissermaßen' = to a degree, not fully)
eigentlich, im Prinzip, mehr oder weniger, eher
Eigentlich ("actually, really") hedges by hinting at a "but" lurking nearby: Eigentlich wollte ich zu Hause bleiben implies "...but I came anyway." Im Prinzip ("in principle, basically") concedes a general truth while leaving room for exceptions. Mehr oder weniger is a near-exact match for "more or less." Eher ("rather, more like") nudges a description toward a better-fitting alternative.
Eigentlich ist das verboten, aber heute drücken wir ein Auge zu.
Actually that's forbidden, but today we'll turn a blind eye. ('eigentlich' sets up the upcoming 'but')
Im Prinzip stimme ich dir zu, nur beim letzten Punkt nicht.
In principle I agree with you, just not on the last point. ('im Prinzip' = broadly yes, with a reservation)
Das war nicht teuer — eher günstig, würde ich sagen.
That wasn't expensive — more like cheap, I'd say. ('eher' redirects toward a better label; 'würde ich sagen' adds a hedge)
For the particle-like, stress-sensitive uses of eigentlich, wohl, and schon, see the dedicated page on those modal particles; here we treat eigentlich only in its hedging role.
Approximation: blurring numbers
When the figure is not exact, German marks it. Ungefähr and the colloquial so ungefähr mean "approximately." Etwa ("roughly, about") is more neutral and common in writing. Circa (abbreviated ca., with a period) is the technical/written approximator, like English "approx."
Die Fahrt dauert ungefähr zwei Stunden.
The journey takes approximately two hours. ('ungefähr' = roughly)
Wir erwarten etwa fünfzig Gäste.
We're expecting about fifty guests. ('etwa' = roughly, neutral register)
Die Halle fasst ca. 2 000 Personen.
The hall holds approx. 2,000 people. ('ca.' = written abbreviation for circa)
Vague-quantity tags like oder so ("...or so / or something") and so was in der Art ("something along those lines") round off a list or an estimate the way English "...or so" does.
Das kostet zwanzig Euro oder so.
That costs twenty euros or so. ('oder so' caps off a rough figure)
How German hedging differs from English
English leans on a small set of high-frequency hedges — sort of, kind of, I mean, like, basically. German distributes the same work across more specialised words: irgendwie and quasi for "kind of," eigentlich and im Prinzip for "basically," ungefähr/etwa/ca. for numerical "about." The trap for English speakers is twofold: they reach for irgendwie for everything (because it maps so neatly onto "kind of"), and they fail to use bzw., das heißt, and the approximators at all because the English originals are either single throwaway words or have no equivalent. Spreading your hedges across the right German markers — rather than overworking one — is what makes the register sound native.
Common Mistakes
Not knowing bzw. and reaching for a clumsy paraphrase.
❌ Anna und Tom kommen aus München und Hamburg, jeweils.
Awkward — German uses 'bzw.' for the 'respectively' relationship in one word.
✅ Anna und Tom kommen aus München bzw. Hamburg.
Anna and Tom come from Munich and Hamburg respectively.
Overusing irgendwie until every claim is mush.
❌ Es war irgendwie irgendwie schön, aber irgendwie auch komisch.
Incorrect — piled-up 'irgendwie' sounds like you can't commit; use one hedge.
✅ Es war irgendwie schön, aber auch ein bisschen komisch.
It was kind of nice, but also a little weird.
Dropping the periods in the abbreviations.
❌ Lieferung werktags, dh von Montag bis Freitag (ca 8 Stunden).
Incorrect spelling — the standard abbreviations are 'd.h.' and 'ca.' with periods.
✅ Lieferung werktags, d.h. von Montag bis Freitag (ca. 8 Stunden).
Delivery on weekdays, i.e. Monday to Friday (approx. 8 hours).
Using das heißt where you mean "is called".
❌ Wie das heißt dieses Wort auf Deutsch?
Incorrect — to ask what something is called, use 'heißen' as a verb: 'Wie heißt dieses Wort?' The discourse marker 'das heißt' means 'i.e.'
✅ Wie heißt dieses Wort auf Deutsch? — Es heißt „Reformulierung“, das heißt eine Umformulierung.
What's this word called in German? — It's „Reformulierung“, that is, a rewording.
Key Takeaways
- das heißt / d.h. = "that is, i.e." — restates more precisely; no verb inversion follows.
- beziehungsweise / bzw. = a precise "or," a "respectively" pairing, or an "or rather" correction — one word, three jobs, no English equivalent.
- irgendwie and quasi are the colloquial "kind of / practically" hedges; eigentlich and im Prinzip are the "actually / basically" hedges. Use them, but don't pile them up.
- Approximate numbers with ungefähr / etwa (speech, neutral) or ca. (written), and round off estimates with oder so.
- Keep the periods: d.h., bzw., ca.
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Start learning German→Related Topics
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