Word
Der Hund macht kein Geräusch.
Meaning
The dog makes no noise.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Der Hund macht kein Geräusch.
der Hund
the dog
machen
to make
kein
no (not any)
das Geräusch
the noise
Questions & Answers about Der Hund macht kein Geräusch.
Why do we say kein instead of nicht here?
When negating a noun that would otherwise have an indefinite article (like ein Geräusch), German uses kein. Meanwhile, nicht is used to negate verbs, adjectives, or definite nouns.
Why do we say Geräusch but use the article form kein?
Geräusch is a neuter noun; its indefinite article would be ein. In the negated form, ein becomes kein (so kein Geräusch literally means "no sound").
Could we use a different verb instead of macht, like erzeugt?
Yes, but macht is the more common, everyday verb to say "makes a sound." Erzeugt is more formal or technical, meaning "produces." Both are correct, but macht is the typical choice in colloquial speech.
Is there a difference if I add überhaupt to say Der Hund macht überhaupt kein Geräusch?
Adding überhaupt ("at all") emphasizes that there is absolutely no sound. It’s an intensifier – the basic meaning stays the same, but it adds emphasis.
Why do we say Der Hund instead of Ein Hund?