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Questions & Answers about Ich bin ledig.
What is the difference between ledig and Single?
In German, ledig describes your official marital status, meaning legally unmarried. If you just want to say you are not currently in a relationship, Germans often use the English loanword and say Ich bin Single. It is possible to be legally ledig but not a Single!
Why doesn't ledig have an ending here, like ledige?
When an adjective comes after a verb like sein (to be) and describes the subject, it takes no endings. It stays in its base form. You only add endings when the adjective comes directly before a noun, such as in ein lediger Mann (a single man).
How is the -ig ending in ledig pronounced?
In standard High German, the -ig at the end of a word is pronounced like a soft ch sound, exactly like the ch in ich. However, in southern Germany and Austria, people often pronounce it with a hard k or g sound at the end. Both ways are widely understood.