die Spardose
piggy bank
A small container with a slot for putting money in to save it.
EXAMPLE
Jede Woche steckt Mia einen Euro in ihre Spardose.
Every week, Mia puts one euro into her piggy bank.
die Spardose
piggy bank
die Spardose, die Spardosen
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Meanings
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry Spardose, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
At a glance
| gender | feminine die |
|---|---|
| plural | die Spardosen |
| genitive | der Spardose |
The four cases
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | die Spardose | die Spardosen |
| accusative | die Spardose | die Spardosen |
| dative | der Spardose | den Spardosen |
| genitive | der Spardose | der Spardosen |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
Usage tips
Word formation
'Spardose' (piggy bank) consists of 'Spar-' (saving) and 'Dose' (tin or container). 'Spar-' comes from the verb 'sparen' (to save) and indicates what the container is for.
EXAMPLE
Zum Geburtstag bekommt Lina eine Spardose, damit sie für ein Fahrrad sparen kann.
Lina gets a piggy bank for her birthday so she can save up for a bicycle.
Typical collocations
Typical collocations are 'eine Spardose füllen' (to fill a piggy bank) and 'eine Spardose leeren' (to empty a piggy bank). The informal expression 'die Spardose plündern' (to raid the piggy bank) often sounds humorous: you take out the money you have saved to spend it.
EXAMPLE
Für die Konzertkarten hat Ben seine Spardose geplündert.
Ben raided his piggy bank to pay for the concert tickets.
Putting money in and taking it out
When putting money in, use 'in' with the accusative: 'Geld in die Spardose werfen' (to drop money into the piggy bank). When taking money out, use 'aus' with the dative: 'Geld aus der Spardose nehmen' (to take money out of the piggy bank).
EXAMPLE
Abends wirft Karim sein Kleingeld in die Spardose.
In the evening, Karim drops his loose change into the piggy bank.
Vor dem Einkauf nimmt er fünf Euro aus der Spardose.
Before going shopping, he takes five euros out of the piggy bank.
In real life
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