Der Plan klingt komisch, funktioniert aber im Alltag sehr gut.

The plan sounds strange, but it works very well in everyday life.

Breakdown of Der Plan klingt komisch, funktioniert aber im Alltag sehr gut.

• in: in
• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• aber: but
• sehr: very

Questions & Answers about Der Plan klingt komisch, funktioniert aber im Alltag sehr gut.

Why does German use klingt (“sounds”) instead of a verb like “seems” here?

In German, klingen is often used metaphorically, not only for literal sounds.

• Der Plan klingt komisch literally is “The plan sounds strange,”
  but idiomatically it matches English “The plan sounds weird/strange” or “The plan seems weird/strange.”

Using klingen in this way is very common:

• Die Idee klingt gut. – That idea sounds good.
• Das klingt interessant. – That sounds interesting.

You can use scheinen (“to seem”), but it feels a bit more formal or tentative:

• Der Plan scheint komisch. – The plan seems strange.

In everyday speech, klingen is more natural here than scheinen.

Why is it Der Plan klingt komisch, not Der Plan klingt seltsam or lustig? What’s the nuance of komisch?