Breakdown of Das Wörterbuch ist sehr schwer.
sein
to be
sehr
very
schwer
heavy / severe, serious
das Wörterbuch
the dictionary
Questions & Answers about Das Wörterbuch ist sehr schwer.
Why does Wörterbuch use the neuter article das?
In German, compound words always take the gender of their last part. Since das Buch (the book) is neuter, das Wörterbuch (the dictionary) is also neuter.
Why is the first part of the word Wörter and not just Wort?
Wörter is the plural of das Wort (the word). So a Wörterbuch literally translates to a "words book" or a book of words!
Can schwer also mean "difficult"?
Yes! schwer can mean both "heavy" (like physical weight, as in this sentence) and "difficult". German has another word, schwierig, which only means "difficult". So a dictionary can be physically schwer, or its contents can be schwer or schwierig to read.