01
das Teilchen
particle
A very small piece or tiny particle of something material.
example
Nach der Renovierung waren überall feine Staubteilchen in der Luft.
After the renovation, fine dust particles were everywhere in the air.
das Teilchen
particle
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Meanings
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Usage tips
Word structure
The word is a diminutive form. It consists of 'der Teil' (part) and the ending '-chen', which marks something as small. All nouns with the ending '-chen' are neuter, hence 'das Teilchen' (particle).
EXAMPLE
Ein Sandkorn ist ein winziges Teilchen Gestein.
A grain of sand is a tiny particle of rock.
Context clue
You can recognize the meaning of 'Teilchen' (particle) from the context. In everyday language, they are small pieces ('Staubteilchen' (dust particles)); in physics, subatomic particles (electron); and in linguistics, short words (modal particles).
EXAMPLE
In der Physik untersucht man den Aufbau der Materie aus kleinsten Teilchen.
In physics, people study the structure of matter from the smallest particles.
Typical collocations
In general usage, 'Teilchen' (particle) is often combined with the material it consists of. Typical examples are 'Staubteilchen' (dust particles), 'Schmutzteilchen' (dirt particles), or 'Plastikteilchen' (plastic particles).
EXAMPLE
Man fand winzige Plastikteilchen im Wasser.
Tiny plastic particles were found in the water.
Technical language: physics
In physics, 'Teilchen' (particle) is a technical term. Common combinations are 'subatomare Teilchen' (subatomic particles), 'Elementarteilchen' (elementary particles), or 'der Teilchenbeschleuniger' (particle accelerator).
EXAMPLE
Neutrinos sind elektrisch neutrale Elementarteilchen mit sehr geringer Masse.
Neutrinos are electrically neutral elementary particles with very low mass.
Technical language: linguistics
In linguistics, 'Teilchen' (particle) is a technical term for a certain word class. People also speak of 'Modalpartikeln' (modal particles) or 'Abtönungspartikeln' (modal/flavoring particles).
EXAMPLE
Im Satz „Was machst du denn hier?“ ist „denn“ ein Teilchen, das Überraschung ausdrückt.
In the sentence 'Was machst du denn hier?' (What are you doing here?), 'denn' is a particle that expresses surprise.
Compare with
Teilchen vs Korn
grain / schnapps / sight
'Korn' and 'Teilchen' can both mean something very small. 'Korn' is often used for a small, hard piece of a substance, for example sand, salt, or sugar. 'Teilchen' is more general and simply means a tiny particle or a very small piece. 'Korn' sounds more concrete when you can see or feel the individual small pieces. 'Teilchen' fits better when you are talking generally about very small pieces.
Teilchen
Im Sonnenlicht sieht man kleine Teilchen in der Luft.
In the sunlight, you can see small particles in the air.
Korn
Ein Korn Salz klebt noch am Rand des Tellers.
A grain of salt is still stuck to the edge of the plate.
In real life
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