Das ist wahr.

to be

Breakdown of Das ist wahr.

• das: that
• wahr: true

Questions & Answers about Das ist wahr.

What exactly does Das refer to in this sentence?

In Das ist wahr, Das is a demonstrative pronoun meaning that (or sometimes this).

It usually refers back to:

• something just said:
  
  • „Er hat sehr viel gearbeitet.“ – „Das ist wahr.“
    “He worked a lot.” – “That’s true.”
• or a situation you can point to or both speakers know about.

So Das doesn’t have its own content; it points to some previously known statement, fact, or situation.

Why is it Das and not Es? Can I also say Es ist wahr?

Both are possible, but they don’t feel exactly the same.

• Das ist wahr.

  • das is demonstrative: that is true.
  • It sounds a bit more pointed / emphatic, like you are clearly referring to a specific statement:
    “That (what you just said) is true.”

• Es ist wahr.

  • es is a neutral “it”: it is true.
  • Often sounds more general or abstract, sometimes like you’re confirming a fact:
    Es ist wahr, dass… = “It is true that…”

In everyday conversation, Das ist wahr is more common when you’re directly agreeing with someone’s previous statement. Es ist wahr is more common inside longer sentences (Es ist wahr, dass…).

Is Das here an article (“the”) or a pronoun?

Here it is a pronoun, not an article.

• Article use (before a noun):
  
  • das Haus = the house (article)
• Pronoun use (standing alone, replacing a noun/idea):
  
  • Das ist wahr. = That is true. (pronoun)

Because it stands alone and refers to a previous statement or situation, it’s a demonstrative pronoun in this sentence.

What gender and case is Das in this sentence?

Grammatically, Das here is:

• Gender: neuter
• Case: nominative
• Function: subject of the sentence

German uses das as the nominative neuter form for:

• the article: das Kind (the child)
• the demonstrative pronoun: Das ist mein Auto. (That is my car.)

In Das ist wahr., it is the subject: Das (subject) ist (verb) wahr (predicate adjective).

Why is the word order Das ist wahr and not something like Wahr ist das?

The neutral, unmarked word order for a simple statement in German is:

Subject – Verb – (Rest)

So:

• Das (subject)
• ist (verb)
• wahr (predicate adjective)

Wahr ist das is possible but marked:

• It sounds poetic, rhetorical, or strongly emphatic:
  Wahr ist das, was er sagt. – “True is what he says.”
• This kind of fronting is not wrong, but it’s not the default everyday pattern.

For normal conversation, Das ist wahr. is the standard word order.

Why is the verb ist used here, and not another form of sein?

Ist is the 3rd person singular present tense of sein (“to be”):

• ich bin
• du bist
• er/sie/es ist
• wir sind
• ihr seid
• sie/Sie sind

Since the subject is Das (3rd person singular, like it / that in English), you must use:

Das ist … = That is …

Other forms would be wrong here:

• Das bin wahr – incorrect
• Das sind wahr – incorrect

What’s the difference between wahr, richtig, and stimmt?

All three can be translated with “true / correct / right”, but they’re used differently:

1. wahr – true in the sense of factually true:

   • Das ist wahr. – That is true.
   • eine wahre Geschichte – a true story

2. richtig – correct/right in the sense of not wrong / appropriate:

   • Das ist richtig. – That is correct.
   • Die Antwort ist richtig. – The answer is correct.
   • Also used for “the right bus, the right time”:
     der richtige Bus, die richtige Zeit

3. (Das) stimmt – more colloquial “That’s right / That’s correct”:

   • Das stimmt. – That’s right / That’s correct.
   • Very common in everyday German when agreeing with someone.

In Das ist wahr., you are focusing on factual truth, similar to “That is true.”

How do I negate this? Is it Das ist nicht wahr or Das ist kein wahr?

The correct negation is:

Das ist nicht wahr. – That is not true.

Here’s why:

• wahr is an adjective, not a noun.
• You negate adjectives (and most verbs, adverbs, whole clauses) with nicht, not kein.

Use:

• nicht before adjectives:
  Das ist nicht wahr. – That is not true.
• kein before nouns that would otherwise take ein:
  Das ist kein Haus. – That is not a house.

Can wahr also go before a noun, or only after sein like this?

Wahr can be used both:

1. Predicatively (after “to be” etc.), as in your example:

   • Das ist wahr. – That is true.

2. Attributively (before a noun):

   • eine wahre Geschichte – a true story
   • ein wahrer Freund – a true friend
   • im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes – in the truest sense of the word

When used attributively, wahr takes normal adjective endings:

• ein wahrer Freund, eine wahre Geschichte, keine wahren Gründe, etc.

How do you pronounce wahr?

Wahr is pronounced:

• IPA: [vaːɐ̯]

Details:

• w = like English v in very
• a = a long a sound, similar to “father”
• h = here it only indicates that the a is long; you don’t pronounce a full h sound
• r at the end is often very weak in many accents, almost like a slight vocalic sound

So you can think of it roughly like “vaar” (with a long a, not like English “war”).

What is the difference between Das ist wahr. and Ist das wahr?

The difference is statement vs. question, and the word order changes:

• Das ist wahr. – Statement

  • Subject first, then verb: Das (subject) ist (verb) wahr.

• Ist das wahr? – Yes/no question

  • Verb first, then subject: Ist (verb) das (subject) wahr?

Meaning:

• Das ist wahr. = “That is true.”
• Ist das wahr? = “Is that true?”

In spoken German, intonation also helps:

• Falling intonation for the statement.
• Rising (or at least non-falling) intonation for the question.

Is Das ist wahr. formal or informal? Is it commonly used?

The sentence itself is neither formal nor informal; it works in any context.

However, in everyday casual conversation, Germans might more often say:

• Das stimmt. – That’s right.
• Stimmt. – Right / True. (even shorter, very common)

Das ist wahr. sounds slightly more neutral or even a bit bookish / serious, and you’re more likely to see it in:

• written texts,
• more serious discussions,
• or if you want to sound a bit more emphatic about truth.

Why is Das capitalized here? Is it always capitalized?

In this sentence it is capitalized because it is the first word of the sentence. In German, the first word of every sentence is capitalized.

In addition:

• das is normally lowercase when it appears in the middle of a sentence as a pronoun or article:
  
  • Ich glaube, dass das stimmt. – I believe that that is correct.
• But Das can also be capitalized for other reasons (start of sentence, beginning of a title, etc.).

Do not confuse das with dass:

• das = article / pronoun (“the / that / which / this”)
• dass = conjunction (“that” introducing a clause):
  Ich denke, dass das wahr ist. – I think that that is true.

Can you say something like “That true” in German and leave out ist?

No. In German, you cannot drop the verb sein (“to be”) in this kind of sentence.

• English (informal): That true. – Verb omitted, but still understandable.
• German: Das wahr. – Incorrect. A finite verb is required.

You must say:

• Das ist wahr. – That is true.
• Or, more colloquially, you could answer just: Wahr. (as a short comment), but that’s no longer a full sentence; it’s just the adjective used as a one-word reply.