Learn Hardcore German: Ich nehme eine Jacke, egal welche Farbe sie hat. - I take a jacket, no matter what color it is.

Ich nehme eine Jacke can mean:
- I am taking a jacket (right now), or
- I’ll take a jacket (a decision about the future, expressed in the present)

German often uses the present tense for near-future decisions, so you don’t need werde nehmen here.

Compare:

Ich nehme eine Jacke. – I’ll take a jacket. (natural, everyday German)
Ich werde eine Jacke nehmen. – I will take a jacket. (possible, but a bit more formal, or emphasizing the future plan)
Ich nehme eine Jacke mit. – I’m taking a jacket with me. (focus on taking it along when you go somewhere)

In this sentence, the main idea is the choice, not the “taking along,” so nehmen without mit is perfectly normal.

Why is it eine Jacke? What case is that?

Jacke is the direct object of nehmen (you are taking something), so it’s in the accusative case.

Question: Ich nehme was? → eine Jacke → accusative object.

For feminine nouns like die Jacke, the nominative and accusative indefinite article are the same:

Nominative: eine Jacke (subject)
Accusative: eine Jacke (direct object)

So even though the form doesn’t change, grammar-wise it’s accusative here.

If it were masculine, you would see the difference:

Nominative: ein Mantel (subject)
Accusative: einen Mantel (direct object)
- Ich nehme einen Mantel. – I’m taking a coat.

What exactly does egal mean here, and how is it used?

Egal basically means “it doesn’t matter” / “regardless of.”

In this sentence:

egal welche Farbe sie hat ≈ “no matter what color it has”

Common patterns with egal:

Es ist mir egal. – I don’t care / It doesn’t matter to me.
egal wer – no matter who
egal wann – no matter when
egal wo – no matter where
egal welche Farbe – no matter which color

So egal + a question word (wer, wann, wie, welche, etc.) forms a phrase meaning “no matter …”. Here it introduces a condition that you are indifferent about: you’ll take a jacket, regardless of its color.

What is the structure and function of egal welche Farbe sie hat?

Egal welche Farbe sie hat is a subordinate clause-like expression that specifies a condition you don’t care about.

Breakdown:

egal – no matter / regardless
welche Farbe – which color
- welche = “which” (a question word/determiner)
- Farbe = “color” (feminine noun)
sie – “she” / “it” referring back to die Jacke
hat – “has”

Literal structure:
Ich nehme eine Jacke, egal welche Farbe sie hat.
→ “I’ll take a jacket, no matter which color it has.”

You can paraphrase it as two sentences:

Ich nehme eine Jacke. Es ist egal, welche Farbe sie hat.
(I’ll take a jacket. It doesn’t matter what color it has.)

So egal welche Farbe sie hat functions like a clause expressing “regardless of which color it has.”

Why is the pronoun sie used for “it”? Why not es?

In German, pronouns refer to the grammatical gender of the noun, not to some idea of “things = it.”

die Jacke – feminine → pronoun sie
das Auto – neuter → pronoun es
der Mantel – masculine → pronoun er

So:

Ich nehme eine Jacke, egal welche Farbe sie hat.
“sie” = die Jacke (feminine)
Ich nehme ein Auto, egal welche Farbe es hat.
“es” = das Auto (neuter)
Ich nehme einen Mantel, egal welche Farbe er hat.
“er” = der Mantel (masculine)

In English you’d say “it” in all three cases, but German keeps the gender distinction in the pronoun.

Why is it welche Farbe and not welcher Farbe?

Because Farbe is in the accusative case here, as the direct object of hat.

The inner question is: Sie hat was? → eine/welche Farbe → accusative.

For feminine Farbe:

Nominative: welche Farbe
Accusative: welche Farbe

They look the same in feminine, which can be confusing. The function, however, is accusative.

You can see the case more clearly with a masculine noun:

Welchen Mantel hat sie? – Which coat does she have?
Nominative: welcher Mantel
Accusative: welchen Mantel

So in welche Farbe sie hat, welche Farbe is accusative, but the form doesn’t change because Farbe is feminine.

Why is the verb hat at the end of welche Farbe sie hat?

Welche Farbe sie hat is a subordinate clause (introduced by welche), and in German subordinate clauses the finite verb goes to the end.

Compare:

Main clause word order:
- Sie hat eine rote Jacke. – She has a red jacket. (verb in 2nd position)
Subordinate clause word order:
- … welche Farbe sie hat. – … what color she has. (verb at the end)

So in the full sentence:

Main clause: Ich nehme eine Jacke (verb 2nd: nehme)
Subordinate clause: egal welche Farbe sie hat (verb at the end: hat)

This verb-final pattern is standard for clauses introduced by words like dass, weil, wenn, obwohl, welche, etc.

Can I put egal welche Farbe sie hat at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes, you can. But then you must keep the verb-second rule in the main clause.

Correct:

Egal welche Farbe sie hat, nehme ich eine Jacke.

Here:

Subordinate-like part first: Egal welche Farbe sie hat,
Then main clause with verb second: nehme (1st), ich (2nd element), eine Jacke …

Incorrect word order would be:

✗ Egal welche Farbe sie hat, ich nehme eine Jacke.
(The main clause still needs the verb in the second position: nehme ich, not ich nehme after a fronted element.)

So yes, you can front that phrase to emphasize the “no matter what color” part, as long as you adjust the main clause word order accordingly.

Could I also say Ich nehme irgendeine Jacke instead? Does it mean the same?

Ich nehme irgendeine Jacke is similar but not identical in nuance.

Ich nehme eine Jacke, egal welche Farbe sie hat.
Focus: You’ll take a jacket and you specifically don’t care about its color.
Ich nehme irgendeine Jacke.
Focus: You’ll take some jacket or other, you don’t care which jacket it is (brand, size, look, etc.). Color might be one of the things you don’t care about, but it’s not stated explicitly.

You could combine ideas:

Ich nehme irgendeine Jacke, egal welche Farbe sie hat.
I’ll take any jacket at all; I don’t care what color it has.

So egal welche Farbe sie hat highlights indifference about the color, whereas irgendeine Jacke is about indifference to the specific jacket.