der Riesenfehler
huge mistake
A very serious or significant mistake.
EXAMPLE
Es war ein Riesenfehler, den Vertrag ohne Prüfung zu unterschreiben.
It was a huge mistake to sign the contract without checking it.
der Riesenfehler
huge mistake
der Riesenfehler, die Riesenfehler
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Meanings
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry Riesenfehler, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
At a glance
| gender | masculine der |
|---|---|
| plural | die Riesenfehler |
| genitive | des Riesenfehlers |
The four cases
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | der Riesenfehler | die Riesenfehler |
| accusative | den Riesenfehler | die Riesenfehler |
| dative | dem Riesenfehler | den Riesenfehlern |
| genitive | des Riesenfehlers | der Riesenfehler |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
Usage tips
Word formation
'Riesenfehler' (huge mistake) is made up of 'Riese' (giant) and 'Fehler' (mistake). 'Riesen-' acts as an intensifier here and shows that the mistake is particularly serious or has major consequences.
EXAMPLE
Die falsche Adresse auf dem wichtigen Dokument war ein Riesenfehler.
The wrong address on the important document was a huge mistake.
Register and style
'Riesen-' is used as a strong intensifier in compounds like this. 'Riesenfehler' therefore sounds emphatic and emotional and is especially common in spoken language and personal texts.
EXAMPLE
Im Rückblick war es ein Riesenfehler, die Warnungen zu ignorieren.
In retrospect, it was a huge mistake to ignore the warnings.
Typical collocations
Typical collocations include 'einen Riesenfehler machen' (to make a huge mistake), 'einen Riesenfehler begehen' (to commit a huge mistake), and 'ein Riesenfehler sein' (to be a huge mistake). The word is often used with verbs that express a wrong decision or action.
EXAMPLE
Mit dieser Entscheidung hat die Firma einen Riesenfehler gemacht.
The company made a huge mistake with this decision.
In real life
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