Breakdown of Der Haken ist kaputt, deshalb darf der Mantel nicht daran hängen.
Questions & Answers about Der Haken ist kaputt, deshalb darf der Mantel nicht daran hängen.
Haken is a noun, and all German nouns are capitalized.
der is the masculine nominative singular definite article, because Haken is masculine (der Haken). Here it’s the subject of the clause Der Haken ist kaputt.
It can mean both:
- Literally: der Haken = a hook (like on a wall or hanger).
- Figuratively: Der Haken ist … can also mean The catch is …
In your sentence, the second clause about the coat makes the literal “hook” meaning most likely.
German often describes a broken state with sein + adjective:
- kaputt = broken / not working / damaged
So Der Haken ist kaputt focuses on the current state (“is broken”). A more action-focused alternative would be something like Der Haken ist kaputtgegangen (“has broken”).