crystal ball
die Kristallkugel, die Kristallkugeln
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crystal ball
A transparent or translucent sphere that fortune-tellers supposedly look into to predict the future.
Die Wahrsagerin legte die Hände um die Kristallkugel und begann zu erzählen.
The fortune-teller placed her hands around the crystal ball and began to tell the story.
crystal ball
A humorous term for an alleged way of predicting the future or upcoming developments precisely.
Ich habe leider keine Kristallkugel und weiß deshalb nicht, wie sich die Preise entwickeln werden.
Unfortunately, I don't have a crystal ball, so I don't know how prices will develop.
| gender | feminine die |
|---|---|
| plural | die Kristallkugeln |
| genitive | der Kristallkugel |
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | die Kristallkugel | die Kristallkugeln |
| accusative | die Kristallkugel | die Kristallkugeln |
| dative | der Kristallkugel | den Kristallkugeln |
| genitive | der Kristallkugel | der Kristallkugeln |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
'Kristallkugel' (crystal ball) is made up of 'Kristall' (crystal) and 'Kugel' (sphere/ball). The word therefore literally refers to a ball made of or containing crystal.
Auf dem Tisch stand eine große Kristallkugel.
There was a large crystal ball on the table.
In its literal meaning, 'Kristallkugel' (crystal ball) frequently occurs with verbs related to seeing or interpreting, such as 'in eine Kristallkugel schauen' (to look into a crystal ball), 'in eine Kristallkugel blicken' (to gaze into a crystal ball), or 'aus einer Kristallkugel lesen' (to read from a crystal ball).
Die Wahrsagerin blickte lange in die Kristallkugel.
The fortune-teller gazed into the crystal ball for a long time.
In its figurative meaning, 'Kristallkugel' (crystal ball) is often used humorously when someone asks for an exact prediction about the future. A typical expression is 'keine Kristallkugel haben' (not to have a crystal ball).
Wir haben schließlich keine Kristallkugel und planen deshalb mit mehreren möglichen Szenarien.
After all, we don't have a crystal ball, so we're planning for several possible scenarios.
