01
die Güte
goodness
The quality of being kind, benevolent, and forgiving toward other people.
example
Sie ist bekannt für ihre unendliche Güte und Hilfsbereitschaft.
She is known for her endless goodness and willingness to help.
die Güte
goodness / quality
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Meanings
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Usage tips
Word family
The noun 'die Güte' (goodness/quality) is derived directly from the adjective 'gut' (good). This transformation with an umlaut (u → ü) and the ending '-e' is a typical pattern for forming abstract nouns from adjectives.
EXAMPLE
Ein gutes Produkt hat eine hohe Güte.
A good product has high quality.
Fixed expression
The expression 'meine Güte' (my goodness) is a fixed idiom. It is used as an exclamation to express surprise, astonishment, or mild annoyance, and it often appears at the beginning of a sentence.
EXAMPLE
Meine Güte, ist das aber teuer!
My goodness, that is expensive!
Usage pattern
To describe the quality of something, 'Güte' (quality) is often used in the fixed structure 'von ... Güte' (of ... quality). The degree of quality is described by an adjective.
EXAMPLE
Der Wein ist von ausgezeichneter Güte.
The wine is of excellent quality.
Sentence structure
In formal language, there is the construction 'die Güte haben, etwas zu tun' (to have the kindness to do something). It is a very polite way to ask someone to do something or to thank someone for a kind action.
EXAMPLE
Hätten Sie die Güte, das Fenster zu schließen?
Would you be so kind as to close the window?
Compare with
Güte vs Wert
value
'der Wert' and 'die Güte' can both say how good or valuable something is. Here, 'der Wert' usually means financial value: how much does something cost, or how much can you get for it? 'die Güte' is more about the quality of something, for example whether a product is well made or belongs to a good quality grade. The words can be confused because good quality often also has a high value. A practical tip: for price and money, 'Wert' fits better; for quality and condition, 'Güte' fits better.
Güte
Bei diesem Kaffee erkennt man die Güte schon am starken Duft.
With this coffee, you can recognize the quality just from its strong aroma.
Wert
Der Wert des Fahrrads ist nach dem Unfall stark gesunken.
The value of the bicycle dropped sharply after the accident.
In real life
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