Learn Hardcore German: Das ist genug für heute.

Das ist genug für heute
- das is a demonstrative pronoun (like English that or this).
- It usually refers to something specific you can point to or that was just talked about:
  - after doing exercises: Das ist genug für heute. (That’s enough [exercise] for today.)
- It sounds a bit more definite or pointed.
Es ist genug für heute
- es is more like a dummy/impersonal pronoun (it).
- It sounds a bit more abstract and is less common in everyday speech in this exact sentence.
- You might hear Es ist genug in more formal or literary contexts.

In everyday spoken German, with the meaning “That’s enough for today,” Das ist genug für heute is the natural choice. Another very common variant is Das reicht für heute.

Is das here “this” or “that” in English?

Context decides, but:

Literally, das is closer to that.
In natural English translation, we often just say “That’s enough for today.”
If you are talking about something very immediate (like what you’re currently doing), English might choose “That’s enough for today” or even “That’s it for today”, not usually this.

So you can safely think of das here as that.

Why doesn’t genug have an ending like genuge, genugen, etc.?

Because genug in this sentence is not used as a normal adjective that describes a noun; it behaves like an adverb / quantity word:

As a quantity word, it is invariable (no endings):
- Ich habe genug. – I have enough.
- Wir haben genug Zeit. – We have enough time.
- Das ist genug für heute. – That is enough for today.

You only see endings when an adjective directly modifies a noun and stands before it:

ein schönes Haus – a beautiful house
genug does not work like that here. It’s describing the amount, not a noun with a case/gender/number that would trigger endings.

So: in this typical “enough” sense, genug has no endings.

Is genug an adjective or an adverb?

It can function as both, depending on context, but in Das ist genug für heute it’s best thought of as a quantity adverb:

As a quantity word/adverb (no endings):
- Ich habe genug. – I have enough.
- Wir haben genug gegessen. – We have eaten enough.
- Das ist genug für heute. – That’s enough for today.
Combined with adjectives/adverbs, it still behaves adverbially and usually comes after them:
- Das ist gut genug. – That is good enough.
- Schnell genug. – fast enough

So in this sentence, treat genug as an adverbial “enough,” not as a normal adjective that would take endings.

Can I change the word order and say Das ist für heute genug? Is there a difference?

Yes, Das ist für heute genug is correct German.

Difference in nuance:

Das ist genug für heute.
- The focus is slightly more on the amount being enough in general.
- Very common, sounds natural and neutral.
Das ist für heute genug.
- By putting für heute earlier, you put a bit more emphasis on “for today” — as in, maybe it’s not enough forever, but it’s enough for today.
- Still very natural, also common.

Both are fine in everyday speech; the difference is subtle, and you can safely use either.

Can I just say Das ist genug heute without für?

That sounds unnatural in German. You normally need für here:

✅ Das ist genug für heute.
❌ Das ist genug heute. (sounds wrong or at least very odd)

Warum?

für heute is a fixed, idiomatic chunk meaning “for today (for the rest of today)”.
Without für, heute just acts as a simple time adverb (today), and Das ist genug heute doesn’t fit normal German word choice.

So: keep für – Das ist genug für heute.

Why is heute at the end of the sentence?

In German, adverbials (time, manner, place, etc.) are quite flexible, but a common order rule is:

Time – Manner – Place, and adverbials often appear after the verb and complement.

Here, für heute is a prepositional time phrase, and the sentence structure is:

Das (subject)
ist (verb)
genug (predicative complement)
für heute (time phrase)

Putting für heute at the end is very natural: Das ist genug für heute.

You technically could say Für heute ist das genug, but that sounds a bit more marked/emphatic. The given version is the standard, neutral word order.

Why is only Das capitalized and not genug or heute?

Capitalization rules in modern German:

First word of the sentence is capitalized → Das
Nouns and nominalized words (words used as nouns) are capitalized.
Verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, etc. are normally lowercase.

In Das ist genug für heute:

Das – capitalized because it’s the first word of the sentence.
genug – an adverb/quantity word → lowercase.
für – preposition → lowercase.
heute – time adverb → lowercase.

If Genug were used as a noun, it would be capitalized, e.g.:

Ich habe jetzt mein Genug. – I’ve had enough (I’ve reached my limit).

But in our sentence, it is not a noun, so it stays lowercase.

Could I drop Das ist and just say Genug für heute?

Yes, that’s a very natural way to say it, especially in spoken German:

Genug für heute. – Enough for today.

This is like English dropping “That is” and just saying “Enough for today.”

Use it when:

You’re stopping an activity:
- (after 20 pushups) Genug für heute.
You’re closing a meeting or study session.

It’s a bit more abrupt/short, but completely normal and common.

What’s the difference between Das ist genug and Das reicht?

Both can mean “That’s enough”, but they feel slightly different:

Das ist genug.
- More literal: That is enough.
- Neutral, clear, slightly more “measuring” in tone (amount/quantity).
Das reicht.
- Literally: That suffices / That is sufficient.
- Very common in everyday speech.
- Sounds very natural and often a bit more idiomatic than Das ist genug in some contexts.

For “That’s enough for today”, many native speakers would actually say:

Das reicht für heute. – extremely common.
Less often: Das ist genug für heute.

So you can treat Das reicht (für heute) as a very common everyday equivalent.

Is the sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Can I say it to my boss or teacher?

Das ist genug für heute is neutral in style. It’s fine in both:

informal contexts (friends, family)
formal contexts (boss, teacher, colleagues)

What matters more is tone of voice and context:

Said calmly when ending a meeting or a task: polite and fine.
Shouted in frustration at someone: can sound rude, just like “That’s enough for today!” in English.

So grammatically and stylistically, it’s okay for almost any situation; just use a polite tone when appropriate.

How do you pronounce genug and für correctly?

Approximate IPA and tips:

genug – /gəˈnuːk/
- ge- → a short, unstressed “guh” ([gə])
- -nug → long u like English “noon” ([nuː])
- Final g is pronounced like a k sound here ([k]), not like English “g” in “go”.
- So it’s roughly “guh-NOOK”.
für – /fyːɐ̯/ (or /fyːr/ depending on accent)
- ü is the tricky sound: round your lips like for “oo” in “food”, but say “ee” as in “see” at the same time.
- Try starting from English “fee” and then rounding your lips: that gets you close to fü-.
- The r at the end is often very weak or almost vocalized in many accents.

So the whole sentence could sound like: [das ɪst gəˈnuːk fyːɐ̯ ˈhɔʏ̯tə].

What grammatical person and tense is ist here?

ist is the 3rd person singular form of sein (to be).
It is in the present tense.

So grammatically, Das ist genug für heute is:

3rd person singular, present: That is enough for today.