Learn Hardcore German: Die Straße ist eng.

Writing die straße ist eng is considered incorrect spelling. Adjectives and verbs (like eng, ist) are not capitalized unless they start the sentence or are part of a proper name.

What is the letter ß in Straße, and how is it pronounced?

The letter ß is called Eszett or scharfes S (“sharp s”). It represents a sound similar to ss in English.

Pronunciation:

Straße ≈ shtrah-sse (more precisely: [ˈʃtʁaːsə])
The ß is pronounced like a voiceless s, as in bus or glass (never like English z).

Spelling rules (simplified):

After a long vowel or diphthong, German often uses ß:
- Straße, Fuß, heißen
After a short vowel, ss is used:
- müssen, Presse, lassen

In Switzerland and Liechtenstein, ß is not used at all; they write Strasse instead. In Germany and Austria, Straße with ß is the standard.

Why is it eng and not enge or engen?

In Die Straße ist eng, the adjective eng is used after the verb sein (to be). This is called a predicate adjective, and in German:

Predicate adjectives do not take endings.

So you say:

Die Straße ist eng. (The street is narrow.)
Die Straßen sind eng. (The streets are narrow.)
Das Auto ist neu. (The car is new.)

No endings on eng, neu, etc.

Adjective endings appear when the adjective comes before the noun:

die enge Straße (the narrow street)
eine enge Straße
enge Straßen

Here, enge changes form depending on the article and the case. But in ist eng, there is no ending.

What case is Straße in, and how do we know?

In Die Straße ist eng, Straße is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the sentence.

Structure:

Die Straße = subject (Who or what is narrow?)
ist = verb
eng = predicate adjective (describes the subject)

General rule:

The subject of a normal statement sentence is in the nominative.
Here, nothing is happening to the street; we are just describing it, so it stays nominative.

Compare:

Ich stehe auf der Straße. (I am standing on the street.)
- der Straße is dative singular feminine, after the preposition auf (with a location meaning).
Ich sehe die Straße. (I see the street.)
- die Straße is accusative singular feminine, as the direct object.

Why is it ist and not hat (as in “The street has narrowness”)?

German uses sein (to be) for descriptions of states and qualities, very similarly to English.

Die Straße ist eng. = The street is narrow.

Using haben (to have) here would be unnatural:

Die Straße hat Enge. – This is grammatically possible but sounds very odd and is not how Germans express this idea.

So for adjectives describing how something is (big, small, narrow, long, etc.), German uses:

sein
- adjective
  - Die Straße ist lang.
  - Die Brücke ist alt.
  - Die Straße ist eng.

Can I change the word order and say Eng ist die Straße?

Yes, but it sounds unusual and very marked in everyday speech.

Normal, neutral word order is:

Die Straße ist eng. (Subject – Verb – Complement)

You can front the adjective phrase eng for emphasis or in poetic/literary style:

Eng ist die Straße, die zum Dorf führt.

This sounds like a contrast or a stylistic choice, not a normal, neutral statement. For regular spoken German, keep:

Die Straße ist eng.

How do you pronounce the whole sentence Die Straße ist eng?

Approximate IPA: [diː ˈʃtʁaːsə ɪst ɛŋ]

Broken down:

Die: [diː] – like English dee
Straße: [ˈʃtʁaːsə]
- Str at the start: shtr- sound
- aː: long “ah”
- ße: “sse” with a clear s
ist: [ɪst] – like English ist in list, but without the l
eng: [ɛŋ] – like English eng in English, but without the lish

Note the final g in eng is pronounced as [ŋ] (the “ng” sound), not like a hard g.

What is the plural of Straße, and how would I say “The streets are narrow”?

The plural of Straße is Straßen.

Singular: die Straße
Plural: die Straßen

To say “The streets are narrow”:

Die Straßen sind eng.

Points to notice:

The article die is the same in nominative feminine singular and nominative plural.
The verb changes:
- Singular: ist (Die Straße ist eng.)
- Plural: sind (Die Straßen sind eng.)
The predicate adjective eng still has no ending after sind.

Why can’t I just say Straße ist eng without Die?

In German, countable singular nouns normally need an article (or another determiner like diese, meine, etc.).

So:

Die Straße ist eng. – correct
Diese Straße ist eng. – correct (This street is narrow.)
Straße ist eng. – incorrect in normal German

You can drop the article in some special contexts (headlines, labels, notes), for example:

On a map or road sign: Straße gesperrt (Road closed)

But in a normal full sentence, you must include an article or determiner.

What is the difference between eng, schmal, and dünn?

All three can relate to “narrow” or “thin,” but they are used differently:

eng
- Main idea: narrow / tight / cramped (little space to move)
- Often used for:
  - Roads, alleys: Die Straße ist eng.
  - Clothes: Die Hose ist zu eng. (The pants are too tight.)
  - Spaces: Der Raum ist eng. (The room is cramped.)
schmal
- Main idea: narrow, slender in width
- Often for:
  - Objects, paths: ein schmaler Weg (a narrow path)
  - Faces, bodies: ein schmales Gesicht (a narrow face)
dünn
- Main idea: thin (opposite of thick)
- For:
  - Thin objects: ein dünnes Brett (a thin board)
  - Liquids: dünne Suppe (watery/thin soup)
  - Hair, paper, etc.

For a street with little width, eng or schmal are possible, but eng is very common, especially when it feels cramped to drive or pass through.

Is Straße the only word for “street” in German?

Straße is the most common general word for street/road in a town.

There are related words with more specific meanings:

Weg – path / way (often smaller, footpath or track)
Gasse – narrow lane, alley (often in old towns)
Allee – avenue (often tree-lined)
Autobahn – highway / motorway
Landstraße – country road

So Die Straße ist eng. will typically refer to a regular road or street that feels narrow, for example for cars.