das Flusspferd
hippopotamus
A large, heavy mammal that lives in rivers and lakes in Africa and spends most of its time in the water.
EXAMPLE
Das Flusspferd öffnete im Wasser weit sein Maul.
The hippopotamus opened its mouth wide in the water.
das Flusspferd
hippopotamus
das Flusspferd, die Flusspferde
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Meanings
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry Flusspferd, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
At a glance
| gender | neuter das |
|---|---|
| plural | die Flusspferde |
| genitive | des Flusspferds |
The four cases
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | das Flusspferd | die Flusspferde |
| accusative | das Flusspferd | die Flusspferde |
| dative | dem Flusspferd | den Flusspferden |
| genitive | des Flusspferds des Flusspferdes | der Flusspferde |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
Usage tips
Word composition
'Flusspferd' (hippopotamus) is made up of 'Fluss' (river) and 'Pferd' (horse). The compound describes the animal's habitat and its strong, horse-like appearance; biologically, however, it does not belong to the horse family.
EXAMPLE
Im Tierlexikon steht ein ausführlicher Artikel über das Flusspferd.
The animal encyclopedia contains a detailed article about the hippopotamus.
Typical collocations
'Flusspferd' (hippopotamus) is often used with verbs such as 'beobachten' (to observe), 'fotografieren' (to photograph), and 'füttern' (to feed). Place phrases such as 'im Zoo' (at the zoo) or 'im Wasser' (in the water) also often occur in such sentences.
EXAMPLE
Die Besucher fotografierten ein Flusspferd im Zoo.
The visitors photographed a hippopotamus at the zoo.
Descriptions
The word is often used in descriptions of animals and reports about zoos or African wildlife. Such sentences are frequently followed by information about the hippopotamus's behavior, habitat, or size.
EXAMPLE
Der Bericht beschreibt, wie ein Flusspferd den ganzen Nachmittag im Wasser blieb.
The report describes how a hippopotamus stayed in the water all afternoon.
In real life
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