das Alpaka
alpaca
A South American domesticated animal from the camel family, kept mainly for its soft wool.
EXAMPLE
Das Alpaka grast mit den anderen Tieren auf der Weide.
The alpaca is grazing in the pasture with the other animals.
das Alpaka
alpaca
das Alpaka, die Alpakas
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Meanings
das Alpaka
alpaca
The soft, fine wool of the alpaca, used to make clothing.
EXAMPLE
Für diesen Pullover wurde reines Alpaka versponnen.
Pure alpaca was spun to make this sweater.
das Alpaka
alpaca
A fabric made from alpaca wool or from a blend of this wool with other fibers.
EXAMPLE
Die Schneiderin schnitt das Alpaka für das Jackett zu.
The dressmaker cut the alpaca fabric for the jacket.
das Alpaka
alpaca
A silver-colored alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc, also called nickel silver. It contains no silver and is used, among other things, for cutlery and jewelry.
EXAMPLE
Die alten Löffel bestehen aus Alpaka und sind nur dünn versilbert.
The old spoons are made of alpaca and are only thinly silver-plated.
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry Alpaka, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
At a glance (die)
| gender | feminine die |
|---|---|
| plural | die Alpakas |
| genitive | des Alpakas |
The four cases (die)
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | das Alpaka | die Alpakas |
| accusative | das Alpaka | die Alpakas |
| dative | dem Alpaka | den Alpakas |
| genitive | des Alpakas der Alpaka | der Alpakas |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
At a glance (der)
| gender | masculine der |
|---|---|
| genitive | des Alpakas |
The four cases (der)
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | der Alpaka | – |
| accusative | den Alpaka | – |
| dative | dem Alpaka | – |
| genitive | des Alpakas | – |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
At a glance (die)
| gender | feminine die |
|---|---|
| genitive | der Alpaka |
The four cases (die)
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | die Alpaka | – |
| accusative | die Alpaka | – |
| dative | der Alpaka | – |
| genitive | der Alpaka des Alpakas | – |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
At a glance (das)
| gender | neuter das |
|---|---|
| genitive | des Alpakas |
The four cases (das)
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | das Alpaka | – |
| accusative | das Alpaka | – |
| dative | dem Alpaka | – |
| genitive | des Alpakas des Alpaka | – |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
Usage tips
Context clue
With „Alpaka“ (alpaca), the verbs and nouns in the sentence show which meaning is intended: grasen (to graze) or scheren (to shear) points to the animal, verspinnen (to spin) or stricken (to knit) to the wool, zuschneiden (to cut) or Jackett (jacket) to the fabric, and Besteck (cutlery) or Legierung (alloy) to the metal.
EXAMPLE
Auf der Farm werden die Alpakas regelmäßig geschoren.
The alpacas are sheared regularly on the farm.
Das Besteck aus Alpaka ist gut erhalten.
The alpaca cutlery is well preserved.
Typical collocations
When „Alpaka“ (alpaca) refers to the animal, it frequently occurs with verbs related to animal husbandry and agriculture, such as halten (to keep), füttern (to feed), scheren (to shear), or grasen lassen (to let graze).
EXAMPLE
Die Familie hält drei Alpakas auf ihrem kleinen Hof.
The family keeps three alpacas on their small farm.
Wool material
As a term for wool, „Alpaka“ (alpaca) is usually used as the name of a fabric or material. Typical collocations refer to processing it, such as Alpaka verspinnen (to spin alpaca), färben (to dye it), or zu einem Pullover verarbeiten (to turn it into a sweater).
EXAMPLE
Für den Schal wurde besonders weiches Alpaka verarbeitet.
Particularly soft alpaca was used to make the scarf.
Fabric processing
As a fabric, „Alpaka“ (alpaca) refers to a material that can be sewn, cut, or made into garments. In this usage, it is often accompanied by an indication of quantity or material.
EXAMPLE
Die Designerin kombinierte Alpaka mit Leinen für die Jacke.
The designer combined alpaca with linen for the jacket.
Technical usage
The metal meaning of „Alpaka“ (alpaca) occurs mainly in descriptions of cutlery, jewelry, and metal goods. Signal words include „Legierung“ (alloy), „Kupfer“ (copper), „Nickel“ (nickel), „Zink“ (zinc), and „versilbert“ (silver-plated).
EXAMPLE
Das Schmuckstück besteht aus Alpaka und wurde anschließend versilbert.
The piece of jewelry is made of alpaca and was then silver-plated.
In real life
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