Questions & Answers about Der See ist kälter als das Meer.
Why is there an umlaut in kälter?
Many short, one-syllable adjectives with an a, o, or u get an umlaut in their comparative form. That is why kalt (cold) adds the umlaut to become kälter (colder).
Wait, doesn't See mean 'sea'? Why does the translation say 'lake'?
This is a classic false friend! In German, der See (masculine) means the lake. If you want to talk about the ocean or sea, you can use das Meer (as seen at the end of this sentence) or die See (feminine).
Why do we use als here instead of wie for 'than'?
When comparing two unequal things (one is colder than the other), you always use als in German. You only use wie when things are equal, such as in the phrase so kalt wie (as cold as).
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