Die Temperatur des Kaffees ist nun am höchsten.

to be

Breakdown of Die Temperatur des Kaffees ist nun am höchsten.

• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• der Kaffee: the coffee
• nun: now

Questions & Answers about Die Temperatur des Kaffees ist nun am höchsten.

Why is des Kaffees in the genitive case? Can't I just say von dem Kaffee?

des Kaffees shows possession (“the temperature of the coffee”) using the genitive case. German prefers genitive for “of something.” Here, Kaffee is masculine, so the singular genitive article is des and the noun takes -s: des Kaffees. Colloquially you can say vom Kaffee (short for von dem Kaffee), but des Kaffees is more formal and typical in written German.

Why does Kaffee end with -es in des Kaffees?

In German, most masculine and neuter nouns add -s or -es in the singular genitive. Short, one-syllable nouns usually take -es (e.g. des Hundes), while two-syllable nouns like Kaffee take just -s. Thus, the genitive singular of der Kaffee is des Kaffees.

What does nun mean? Is it the same as jetzt?

Both nun and jetzt translate as “now,” but there’s a nuance:

• jetzt is more conversational and immediate.
• nun is slightly more formal or narrative, often found in written texts or storytelling.

In this sentence, nun simply indicates the current state (“now the temperature is at its highest”).