seriousness
der Ernst
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seriousness
The severity or threatening nature of a situation. In particular, this means that a situation must not be underestimated.
Nach dem Unfall wurde allen der Ernst der Lage bewusst.
After the accident, everyone became aware of the seriousness of the situation.
seriousness
A serious and sincere attitude or intention, without joking or exaggeration.
Ich hoffe, du hast den Ernst seiner Worte verstanden.
I hope you understood the seriousness of his words.
seriously
Genuinely and without joking; used to indicate that a statement is meant seriously or to ask whether it is true.
Meinst du das im Ernst?
Do you seriously mean that?
to follow through
To actually carry out an announced action, especially when it has unpleasant consequences or involves decisive action.
Diesmal macht sie Ernst: Sie hat ihre Kündigung schon geschrieben.
This time she's following through: she's already written her resignation letter.
| gender | masculine der |
|---|---|
| genitive | des Ernsts |
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | der Ernst | – |
| accusative | den Ernst | – |
| dative | dem Ernst | – |
| genitive | des Ernsts des Ernstes | – |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
In this sense, 'Ernst' (seriousness) is particularly common in the fixed expression 'der Ernst der Lage' (the seriousness of the situation). Here, 'der Lage' is in the genitive case and identifies the situation whose significance must be recognized.
Erst später erkannte die Bevölkerung den Ernst der Lage.
Only later did the population recognize the seriousness of the situation.
When referring to a serious attitude or intention, 'Ernst' (seriousness) is often combined with verbs such as 'verstehen' (to understand), 'erkennen' (to recognize), or 'begreifen' (to grasp). This often concerns the seriousness of words, intentions, or a request.
Sie erkannte den Ernst seiner Absichten erst nach dem Gespräch.
She recognized the seriousness of his intentions only after the conversation.
'Im Ernst' (seriously) can appear at the beginning of a sentence to explicitly mark a statement as serious. It can also be used on its own or at the end of a sentence as a question when someone doubts whether a statement is meant seriously.
Im Ernst, du möchtest diese schwierige Aufgabe allein lösen?
Seriously, you want to tackle this difficult task on your own?
Du hast den ganzen Bericht gelesen – im Ernst?
You've read the whole report—seriously?
The fixed expression is 'mit etwas Ernst machen' (to follow through on something). 'Mit' takes the dative case here; the noun that follows often refers to an announcement, threat, or demand.
Der Chef machte mit seiner Ankündigung Ernst und schloss das Büro früher.
The boss followed through on his announcement and closed the office early.
