die Sandburg
sandcastle
A castle built out of damp sand, usually on a beach or in a sandbox.
EXAMPLE
Die Kinder bauten am Strand eine große Sandburg.
The children built a large sandcastle on the beach.
die Sandburg
sandcastle
die Sandburg, die Sandburgen
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Meanings
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry Sandburg, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
At a glance
| gender | feminine die |
|---|---|
| plural | die Sandburgen |
| genitive | der Sandburg |
The four cases
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | die Sandburg | die Sandburgen |
| accusative | die Sandburg | die Sandburgen |
| dative | der Sandburg | den Sandburgen |
| genitive | der Sandburg | der Sandburgen |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
Usage tips
Compound word
'Sandburg' (sandcastle) consists of 'Sand' (sand) and 'Burg' (castle). The first part names the material, and the second names the structure being recreated.
EXAMPLE
Unsere Sandburg hat vier Türme und eine hohe Mauer.
Our sandcastle has four towers and a high wall.
Typical collocations
A sandcastle can 'einstürzen' (collapse), and waves can 'wegspülen' (wash away) a sandcastle. These combinations are typical when describing how a sandcastle gets destroyed.
EXAMPLE
Eine große Welle hat unsere Sandburg weggespült.
A large wave washed away our sandcastle.
Bauen with a preposition
In 'eine Sandburg bauen' (to build a sandcastle), 'Sandburg' (sandcastle) is the object in the accusative case. 'An einer Sandburg bauen' (to work on building a sandcastle) emphasizes the work in progress; here, 'an' takes the dative case.
EXAMPLE
Wir wollen heute eine Sandburg bauen.
We want to build a sandcastle today.
Die Kinder bauen schon seit einer Stunde an einer Sandburg.
The children have been working on building a sandcastle for an hour.
In real life
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