Word
Mein Kaffee ist so heiß wie dein Tee.
Meaning
My coffee is as hot as your tea.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Mein Kaffee ist so heiß wie dein Tee.
sein
to be
mein
my
der Kaffee
the coffee
dein
your
der Tee
the tea
heiß
hot
so
as
wie
as
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Questions & Answers about Mein Kaffee ist so heiß wie dein Tee.
What does so ... wie express, and when do I use als instead?
- so + adjective/adverb + wie = equality (as ... as): Mein Kaffee ist so heiß wie dein Tee.
- adjective + -er + als = inequality (comparative ... than): Mein Kaffee ist heißer als dein Tee.
- You can intensify equality with genauso or ebenso: genauso heiß wie, ebenso heiß wie.
Why does heiß have no ending here?
- After linking verbs like sein, adjectives are used in the predicative and remain uninflected: ist heiß.
- Before a noun (attributive), adjectives take endings:
- der heiße Kaffee, mein heißer Kaffee, eine heiße Suppe.
Why is it mein Kaffee and not meiner Kaffee or meine Kaffee?
- Kaffee is masculine. With possessive determiners (ein‑words) in the nominative masculine, there is no ending: mein Kaffee, dein Tee.
- Compare:
- Feminine: meine Milch
- Neuter: mein Bier
- Plural: meine Kekse
Why is it dein Tee, not deinen Tee?
- The comparison implicitly contains a clause: … so heiß, wie dein Tee (ist). In that clause, dein Tee is the subject, so it’s nominative.
- In standard German, pronouns after wie/als are nominative when they function as subjects: größer als ich, so alt wie du (colloquial als mich is common but nonstandard).
What cases are used in the whole sentence?
- Mein Kaffee = nominative subject of ist.
- heiß = predicative adjective (no case).
- dein Tee inside the comparison = nominative subject of the implied ist.
- With pronouns this shows clearly: Mein Kaffee ist so heiß wie deiner (see next Q&A).
Can I replace dein Tee with a pronoun like English “yours”?
- Yes. Use the nominal possessive pronoun agreeing with the missing noun’s gender/number/case:
- Mein Kaffee ist so heiß wie deiner (standing in for masculine Tee).
- More examples: Mein Bier ist so kalt wie deins (neuter), Meine Suppe ist so heiß wie deine (feminine), Meine Getränke sind so kalt wie deine (plural).
Do I need a comma before wie?
- Not in the given sentence, because wie dein Tee is a phrase, not a full clause: … so heiß wie dein Tee (no comma).
- If you spell out the verb, you have a subordinate clause and need a comma: Mein Kaffee ist so heiß, wie dein Tee ist.
Can I drop so and say heiß wie?
- In careful standard German for equality comparisons, use so … wie.
- Dropping so appears in set similes (e.g., heiß wie die Hölle) and colloquial speech, but keep so in neutral/formal writing.
How would I say this formally to someone I address with Sie?
- Use the formal possessive, capitalized: Mein Kaffee ist so heiß wie Ihr Tee.
- Lowercase ihr would mean “her,” so the capital letter matters in writing.
What’s the difference between heiß, warm, and scharf?
- heiß = hot (high temperature): heißer Kaffee.
- warm = warm (pleasantly hot): warmer Tee.
- scharf = spicy/pungent, not temperature: scharfer Tee (e.g., very gingery), scharfes Essen. Don’t use heiß for spicy.
How do I say “not as hot as”?
- Negate the equality: Mein Kaffee ist nicht so heiß wie dein Tee.
Pronunciation tips for this sentence?
- Kaffee is stressed on the second syllable in German: ka‑FFEE.
- Tee has a long vowel: like English “tay” without the y‑glide.
- ei in mein/dein/heiß sounds like English “eye.”
- ß in heiß is an unvoiced s, like English “s” in “hiss.”
What’s up with ß vs ss in heiß?
- Standard German uses ß after long vowels/diphthongs: heiß.
- Swiss spelling uses ss: heiss.
- If you can’t type ß, write ss; pronunciation stays the same.
Why is there no article with mein/dein?
- Possessive determiners (mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, Ihr) occupy the article slot. You do not add an article: mein Kaffee, not der mein Kaffee.
Can I change the word order for emphasis?
- Yes. You can front the comparison phrase; the verb still stays in second position: So heiß wie dein Tee ist mein Kaffee.
- With a full clause after wie, you can also say: Mein Kaffee ist so heiß, wie dein Tee ist (more formal/explicit).
Is gleich heiß wie correct?
- You’ll hear gleich heiß wie in many regions, but the neutral standard is so heiß wie or genauso heiß wie. Prefer those in writing.
How do I compare amounts rather than qualities?
- Use so viel(e) … wie for quantities:
- Ich trinke so viel Kaffee wie du Tee.
- With countables: so viele Tassen Kaffee wie Tassen Tee.
Any common pitfalls with wie and als?
- Equality: so … wie.
- Comparative: -er … als (standard), not größer wie (regional/colloquial).
- After wie/als, use nominative pronouns in standard when they are subjects: größer als ich, so stark wie er.