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Der Hund ist riesig, aber freundlich.

Der Hund ist riesig, aber freundlich.
The dog is huge, but friendly.

Breakdown of Der Hund ist riesig, aber freundlich.

sein
to be
der Hund
the dog
aber
but
freundlich
friendly
riesig
huge
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Questions & Answers about Der Hund ist riesig, aber freundlich.

Why is it Der Hund and not Die Hund or Das Hund?

In German, every noun has a grammatical gender:

  • der = masculine
  • die = feminine
  • das = neuter

The word Hund (dog) is grammatically masculine, so it always takes der in the nominative singular:

  • der Hund = the dog
  • ein Hund = a dog

You simply have to learn the gender with each noun: der Hund, die Katze, das Pferd, etc.

What case is Hund in here, and why?

Hund is in the nominative case.

Reason: In the sentence Der Hund ist riesig, aber freundlich, Der Hund is the subject of the sentence—the thing that is “being something” (huge and friendly).

With the verb sein (to be), the noun after it is not an object but part of a subject complement. The subject itself (Der Hund) is nominative:

  • Wer ist riesig? (Who is huge?) → Der Hund. → nominative.
Why are riesig and freundlich not capitalized?

In German:

  • Nouns are capitalized: der Hund, die Stadt, das Auto.
  • Adjectives are normally not capitalized: riesig, freundlich, groß, klein.

Since riesig and freundlich are adjectives describing the dog, they stay lowercase:

  • Der Hund ist riesig, aber freundlich.

They would only be capitalized in special cases (e.g. some set phrases or when used as nouns, like der/die Kleine).

Why don’t the adjectives have endings, like riesige or freundlicher?

Because they are predicate adjectives, used after a verb like sein (to be).

In German:

  • Before a noun (attributive adjectives), you usually add endings:

    • ein riesiger Hund (a huge dog)
    • der freundliche Hund (the friendly dog)

  • After sein (and similar verbs), adjectives usually have no ending:

    • Der Hund ist riesig.
    • Der Hund ist freundlich.

In this sentence, riesig and freundlich come after ist, so they appear in their base form with no added ending.

Why is the verb in second position: Der Hund ist riesig and not Der Hund riesig ist?

German main clauses follow the V2 rule: the conjugated verb must be in second position in the sentence.

  • Subject + verb + rest:
    • Der Hund ist riesig.
      • 1st element: Der Hund
      • 2nd element: ist (the verb)
      • 3rd element: riesig

Der Hund riesig ist would break that rule and sounds wrong in standard German.

Even if you move something else to the front, the verb still stays second:

  • Riesig ist der Hund, aber freundlich.
    • 1st element: Riesig
    • 2nd element: ist
    • then der Hund
Why is there a comma before aber?

In German, aber is a coordinating conjunction meaning but. When it connects two clauses or clause-like parts, you normally put a comma before it.

Here, we have two descriptions joined:

  1. Der Hund ist riesig
  2. (Der Hund ist) freundlich

They’re coordinated by aber, so we write:

  • Der Hund ist riesig, aber freundlich.

In very short combinations of adjectives, you sometimes see it without a comma in casual writing, but the standard, careful form is with the comma.

Does aber change the word order like some other German conjunctions?

No. Aber is a coordinating conjunction, and it does not push the verb to the end.

Compare:

  • aber (coordinating: verb stays in normal main-clause position)

    • Der Hund ist riesig, aber freundlich.
      (both parts have normal S–V order)

  • weil (subordinating: verb goes to the end)

    • … weil der Hund riesig ist.

So with aber, each side behaves like an independent main clause:

  • Der Hund ist riesig, aber er ist freundlich.
    Both verbs (ist) are in second position in their own clauses.
Could I also say Der Hund ist riesig, aber er ist freundlich? What’s the difference?

Yes, that sentence is perfectly correct:

  • Der Hund ist riesig, aber er ist freundlich.

Difference in feel:

  • Der Hund ist riesig, aber freundlich.

    • Shorter, more natural, and more elegant.
    • The second ist and er are understood and left out.

  • Der Hund ist riesig, aber er ist freundlich.

    • More explicit, sometimes used for emphasis or contrast, like:
      “The dog is huge, but (still) he is friendly.”

In everyday speech and writing, the shorter version (without repeating er ist) is more common when the subject is the same in both parts.

What’s the difference between riesig and groß? Can I say Der Hund ist sehr groß instead?

You can absolutely say:

  • Der Hund ist sehr groß, aber freundlich.

Nuances:

  • groß = big / tall / large (neutral)
  • sehr groß = very big
  • riesig = huge, enormous (stronger than sehr groß in many contexts)

So:

  • groß → big
  • sehr groß → very big
  • riesig → huge / massive

Which you choose depends on how strong you want the description to be.

When should I use freundlich instead of nett or lieb?

All three can describe people or animals in a positive way, but there are differences:

  • freundlich

    • Polite, friendly, kind in manner
    • Often used in more neutral or formal contexts:
      • Der Verkäufer war sehr freundlich. (The salesperson was very friendly.)
      • For animals: Der Hund ist riesig, aber freundlich.

  • nett

    • Nice, kind, pleasant
    • Often more casual:
      • Sie ist wirklich nett. (She’s really nice.)

  • lieb

    • Sweet, dear, well-behaved
    • Often used with children, pets, loved ones:
      • Der Hund ist sehr lieb. (The dog is very sweet / well-behaved.)

In your sentence, freundlich emphasizes that the dog’s manner is friendly, despite being huge, which fits very well.

Could I say Der riesige Hund ist freundlich instead? How does that change the meaning?

Yes, that is correct German:

  • Der riesige Hund ist freundlich.

Differences:

  1. Word type / position

    • Der Hund ist riesig, aber freundlich.
      • riesig and freundlich are predicate adjectives (after the verb ist).
    • Der riesige Hund ist freundlich.
      • riesige is an attributive adjective directly in front of the noun Hund, so it takes an ending: riesig + e.

  2. Emphasis

    • Der Hund ist riesig, aber freundlich.
      • Emphasizes a contrast: he’s huge but still friendly.
    • Der riesige Hund ist freundlich.
      • Simply describes which dog: the huge dog (and then adds that he is friendly).
      • The contrast “huge but friendly” is less explicit here.

Both are correct; your original sentence focuses more on the contrast.

How would I say “The dogs are huge but friendly” in German?

You need plural noun, article, and verb:

  • Die Hunde sind riesig, aber freundlich.

Changes from the singular:

  • Der Hund ist → Die Hunde sind
    • der → die (plural article for all genders)
    • Hund → Hunde (plural form)
    • ist → sind (3rd person plural of sein)

The adjectives riesig and freundlich stay in the base form because they’re still predicate adjectives after sein.

How do I pronounce Hund, riesig, and freundlich?

Key points:

  • Hund

    • Hu- like English “hoon” but shorter
    • Final -d is pronounced more like a t in standard German: [hunt]

  • riesig

    • ie in German is a long ee sound: [ree-]
    • -sig often sounds like -sich: [ree-zich] (with a soft ch like in ich)

  • freundlich

    • eu is like English “oy” in boy: [froynt-]
    • -lich ends with the German ch sound (like in ich), not like English “k”: [froynt-likh]

Altogether (roughly):
Der Hund ist riesig, aber freundlich. → [deːɐ̯ hunt ɪst ˈʁiːzɪç ˈaːbɐ ˈfʁɔʏntlɪç] (IPA)