Breakdown of Dank der Ohrstöpsel schlafe ich im Etagenbett genauso gut wie zu Hause.
Questions & Answers about Dank der Ohrstöpsel schlafe ich im Etagenbett genauso gut wie zu Hause.
Here Dank (really the preposition dank) means “thanks to / due to”:
- Dank der Ohrstöpsel … = “Thanks to the earplugs … / Because of the earplugs …”
This is not the same as:
- danke – the verb form meaning “I thank”, used in Danke! = “Thanks!”
- der Dank – the noun “(the) thanks, gratitude”, as in Vielen Dank!
In your sentence, Dank is at the start of the sentence so it is capitalized anyway, but grammatically it functions as the preposition dank (“thanks to”), not the noun der Dank and not the verb danke.
Here Ohrstöpsel is plural: “earplugs”.
The noun’s forms are roughly:
- Singular: der Ohrstöpsel, Genitive singular: des Ohrstöpsels
- Plural: die Ohrstöpsel, Genitive plural: der Ohrstöpsel
The preposition dank normally takes the genitive (especially in written German).
Genitive plural of die Ohrstöpsel is der Ohrstöpsel.
So:
- Dank der Ohrstöpsel = “thanks to the earplugs” (genitive plural)
In spoken German you will also hear the dative:
- dank den Ohrstöpseln
Both are accepted today. Genitive (Dank der Ohrstöpsel) sounds more formal/standard; dative (dank den Ohrstöpseln) sounds more colloquial.
Yes, that phrase is quite flexible. All of these are correct, but slightly different in emphasis:
Dank der Ohrstöpsel schlafe ich im Etagenbett genauso gut wie zu Hause.
(Emphasis on the cause – “Thanks to the earplugs…”)Ich schlafe dank der Ohrstöpsel im Etagenbett genauso gut wie zu Hause.
(More neutral, like English “I sleep, thanks to the earplugs, in the bunk bed…”)Im Etagenbett schlafe ich dank der Ohrstöpsel genauso gut wie zu Hause.
(Emphasis on where you sleep.)
The main rule to respect is: in a normal main clause, the conjugated verb must stay in second position. You can move the other pieces around as long as you keep that rule.
German has verb‑second word order in main clauses:
- One element in first position (here: Dank der Ohrstöpsel)
- Then the conjugated verb (here: schlafe)
- Then the subject (here: ich), and the rest
So:
- Dank der Ohrstöpsel → first position (counts as one element)
- schlafe → must come second
- ich → follows the verb
Hence: Dank der Ohrstöpsel schlafe ich …
If you want ich immediately before schlafe, you have to put ich in first position:
- Ich schlafe dank der Ohrstöpsel im Etagenbett genauso gut wie zu Hause.
Here ich is the first element; schlafe is still in second place, so the rule is satisfied.
im is the contraction of in dem.
The preposition in can take:
- dative → for a location (where something/someone is)
- accusative → for a movement into something (where something/someone goes)
In your sentence, we are talking about a location (where you sleep), not movement:
- im Etagenbett = in dem Etagenbett → “in the bunk bed” (dative)
If you were talking about movement into the bed, you’d use the accusative:
- Ich klettere in das Etagenbett. – “I climb into the bunk bed.”
- Spoken: Ich klettere ins Etagenbett. (ins = in das)
So im signals “in (and already at) the place”, not movement towards it.
Etagenbett is a neuter noun:
- das Etagenbett, plural die Etagenbetten
It literally combines:
- Etage – “storey / floor / level”
- Bett – “bed”
So das Etagenbett is a bed with two or more levels – in everyday English: a bunk bed.
In some areas you might also hear das Stockbett for “bunk bed.”
genauso gut wie expresses an equality comparison: “just as well as”.
The general pattern is:
- genauso / so + adjective or adverb + wie + comparison point
Examples:
- Er ist genauso groß wie ich. – “He is just as tall as I am.”
- Sie fährt so schnell wie du. – “She drives as fast as you.”
In your sentence:
- genauso gut modifies schlafe – you “sleep just as well”
- wie zu Hause gives the point of comparison
So the whole part means: “I sleep in the bunk bed just as well as (I do) at home.”
They are very close in meaning, but there are some nuances:
genauso gut wie zu Hause
- Very clear “exactly / just as well as at home.”
- Feels a bit more explicit and emphatic about equality.
so gut wie zu Hause
- In this comparison pattern (so … wie), it can also mean “as well as at home.”
- But so gut wie without the wie‑phrase often means “almost”:
- Es ist so gut wie fertig. – “It’s as good as finished / almost finished.”
- In your full sentence with wie zu Hause, it’s still understood as a normal “as … as” comparison, but genauso gut wie sounds crisper and avoids that “almost” feeling.
gleich gut wie zu Hause
- Also understandable as “equally well as at home.”
- More common would simply be:
- Ich schlafe im Etagenbett genauso gut wie zu Hause.
- Ich schlafe im Etagenbett gleich gut wie zu Hause. (no second wie)
In everyday use, genauso gut wie is the most natural and unambiguous choice here.
German distinguishes:
- wie → comparison of equality: “as … as”
- als → comparison of difference: “than”
So:
- Ich schlafe im Etagenbett genauso gut wie zu Hause.
“I sleep just as well as (I do) at home.” (equality)
But:
- Ich schlafe im Etagenbett besser als zu Hause.
“I sleep better than at home.” (difference)
You always use wie with so / genauso / ebenso / nicht so for equal comparisons:
- so gut wie, genauso schnell wie, nicht so laut wie, etc.
You use als with comparatives such as besser, schlechter, größer, schöner.
These expressions have different meanings:
zu Hause – “at home” (location)
- Ich bin zu Hause. – “I am at home.”
- Your sentence compares where you sleep, so it’s about location.
nach Hause – “(to) home” (direction)
- Ich gehe nach Hause. – “I’m going home.”
- This would not fit your sentence because you’re not describing movement.
bei mir zu Hause – “at my place (at home)”
- Adds explicit “my” and can sound more personal or contrast with “at your place,” etc.
- Could be used, but you normally don’t need the extra detail here.
So wie zu Hause is the standard way to say “as (well as) at home” in this context.
The ‑e in Hause is a historical dative ending. Modern German largely dropped this ‑e, but it survives in a few very common fixed expressions, for example:
- zu Hause / zuhause – “at home”
- nach Hause – “(to) home”
- im Jahre 2020 – “in the year 2020”
- im Grunde – “basically”
- zu Ende – “at an end”
In most other contexts you say:
- das Haus, dative: dem Haus, not dem Hause
So you can treat zu Hause / nach Hause / von zu Hause as set phrases you just memorize.
In German, all nouns are capitalized.
- (die) Ohrstöpsel – noun, plural → capitalized
- (das) Etagenbett – noun → capitalized
- (das) Haus → in zu Hause it still behaves like a noun inside a fixed phrase, so Hause is capitalized
Verbs and prepositions are not capitalized (unless they start the sentence):
- schlafe – verb → lowercase
- dank (as a preposition) – normally lowercase, but in your sentence it is at the beginning, so the D is capitalized by sentence rule, not because it’s a noun.
No, in standard German you normally must keep the subject pronoun:
- Dank der Ohrstöpsel schlafe ich im Etagenbett genauso gut wie zu Hause. ✅
- ✗ Dank der Ohrstöpsel schlafe im Etagenbett genauso gut wie zu Hause. ❌
Unlike Spanish or Italian, German is not a “pronoun‑dropping” language: the verb ending ‑e in schlafe is often not enough on its own; the subject pronoun (ich, du, er, sie, …) is usually required.
The only regular places where you drop the subject are:
- imperatives: Schlaf gut! – “Sleep well!”
- informal note‑style or headlines: Schlafe im Etagenbett. (fragment)
But in normal sentences, always include ich.