speechless
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speechless
Temporarily unable to say anything because of great surprise, shock, amazement, or anger.
Die unerwartete Nachricht von ihrem Sieg machte ihn für einen Moment völlig sprachlos.
The unexpected news of her victory left him completely speechless for a moment.
The word is made up of 'Sprache' (language/speech) and the ending '-los' (-less). The ending '-los' means 'without,' so 'sprachlos' literally means 'without speech.'
Als er die Rechnung sah, war er für einen Moment sprachlos.
When he saw the bill, he was speechless for a moment.
'Sprachlos' is often used as a predicative adjective with the verbs 'sein' (to be), 'werden' (to become), or 'machen' (to make). It describes a person's state.
Ihre unhöfliche Antwort machte mich einfach sprachlos.
Her rude answer simply left me speechless.
To state the reason for being speechless, German often uses the preposition 'vor' with a noun in the dative. Typical combinations are 'sprachlos vor Wut' (speechless with anger), 'vor Schreck' (with fright), or 'vor Erstaunen' (with amazement).
Sie war sprachlos vor Staunen, als sie das Panorama sah.
She was speechless with amazement when she saw the panorama.
mute / silent
Stumm and sprachlos can both mean that someone does not say anything. Sprachlos usually describes a temporary reaction to shock, surprise, or anger, while stumm emphasizes a state of not speaking or an inability to speak. After overwhelming news, sprachlos is often the better choice; for persistent silence, stumm is more appropriate.
Als sie die überraschende Nachricht hörte, war sie sprachlos und fand keine Worte.
When she heard the surprising news, she was speechless and could not find the words.
Nach dem Schock blieb er stumm und beantwortete keine der Fragen.
After the shock, he remained silent and did not answer any of the questions.
