chatten 30초 만에
- Chatten is a regular German verb meaning to chat online or via text apps.
- It is strictly for digital communication, not face-to-face talking.
- It requires an extra 'e' in certain conjugations (e.g., du chattest).
- Commonly used with the preposition 'mit' (Dative) and 'über' (Accusative).
The German verb chatten is a fascinating example of a modern loanword that has been fully integrated into the German linguistic system. While its roots are clearly English, its application in German is strictly confined to the digital realm. Unlike the English 'to chat', which can refer to a casual conversation held over a fence, in a cafe, or via a smartphone, the German chatten almost exclusively describes text-based communication in real-time through digital platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, or Discord.
- The Digital Constraint
- In German, if you are talking to someone face-to-face, you would use plaudern or sich unterhalten. Using chatten for a physical meeting would sound like a category error to a native speaker.
- Grammatical Integration
- Despite its foreign origin, it follows the rules of regular weak German verbs. It takes the auxiliary haben in the perfect tense: ich habe gechattet.
"Wir chatten jeden Abend stundenlang über unsere Pläne für den Sommerurlaub, obwohl wir uns tagsüber im Büro sehen."
To understand chatten, one must understand the German preference for precision. German often adopts English words for specific technological functions while retaining traditional German words for the broader, human-centric versions of those actions. This creates a clear semantic boundary between the virtual and the physical world.
"Hast du gestern wieder bis spät in die Nacht mit ihm gechattet?"
- Synonym Nuances
- While schreiben (to write) is often used as a synonym ("Wir schreiben auf WhatsApp"), chatten implies a more synchronous, back-and-forth exchange.
"In der Gaming-Community ist es üblich, während des Spiels über Discord zu chatten."
Using chatten correctly requires an understanding of its conjugation and its specific place in the German sentence structure. As a weak (regular) verb, it is relatively easy for learners to master, but there are stylistic nuances to keep in mind.
Conjugation Basics
The stem of the verb is chatt-. Because the stem ends in -t, German grammar rules dictate that an extra -e- is inserted before endings that start with -t or -st to make it pronounceable.
- ich chatte (I chat)
- du chattest (you chat)
- er/sie/es chattet (he/she/it chats)
- wir chatten (we chat)
- ihr chattet (you all chat)
- sie/Sie chatten (they/you formal chat)
Sentence Placement
In a standard main clause, chatten occupies the second position. In the perfect tense, the auxiliary haben is in the second position, and the past participle gechattet goes to the very end.
"Ich habe gestern stundenlang mit meiner Freundin gechattet."
This verb is frequently used in the infinitive with modal verbs, which is common in the A2/B1 levels of German learning. For instance: "Ich möchte nicht telefonieren, ich will lieber chatten." (I don't want to call, I'd rather chat.)
The Prepositional Landscape
There are three main prepositions associated with chatten:
- mit + Dativ: Indicates the person you are communicating with. (mit den Kollegen chatten)
- über + Akkusativ: Indicates the topic of conversation. (über das Projekt chatten)
- auf/über + Plattform: Indicates the medium. (auf WhatsApp chatten, über Slack chatten)
The context of chatten is almost always informal or semi-formal digital environments. You will rarely find this word in classical literature, but it is ubiquitous in modern German life.
1. Social Media and Instant Messaging
This is the primary home of the word. Whether it's teenagers talking about their day or friends planning a party, chatten is the go-to term for these interactions. You'll hear phrases like "Lass uns später chatten" (Let's chat later) or "Wir haben die ganze Nacht gechattet."
2. The Modern Workplace
With the rise of remote work and tools like Microsoft Teams and Slack, chatten has entered the professional sphere. However, in very formal corporate settings, people might prefer "sich kurzschließen" (to touch base) or "sich austauschen" (to exchange ideas), though chatten is perfectly acceptable for the act of using the chat function.
3. Online Gaming
In the gaming world, chatten is essential. It refers to both the global chat in an MMO and private messages between teammates. Here, you might also encounter the noun der Chat.
Even though chatten seems simple, German learners often stumble on a few specific points regarding its usage and conjugation.
Mistake 1: Using it for offline talking
This is the most frequent error for English speakers. In English, you can "chat" with a neighbor on the street. In German, if you say "Ich habe mit meinem Nachbarn gechattet," a native speaker will assume you were both on your phones or computers, even if you were standing next to each other.
Correction: Use "plaudern" or "quatschen" for offline casual talk.
Mistake 2: Conjugation Errors (The missing 'e')
Because the stem ends in 't', many learners forget the linking 'e'. They might write *du chattst or *er chattt. This is grammatically incorrect and phonetically difficult in German.
Correct: du chattest, er chattet.
Mistake 3: Preposition Confusion
Learners often use "zu" or "an" because they are translating directly from other languages. In German, you chat mit someone.
Incorrect: *Ich chatte zu dir. / *Ich chatte an dich.
Correct: Ich chatte mit dir.
German has a rich vocabulary for 'talking'. Understanding where chatten fits into this spectrum is key to sounding natural.
- Plaudern: This is the closest equivalent to the general English 'to chat'. It implies a light, pleasant, and casual conversation, usually in person or on the phone.
- Quatschen: A very common colloquial term. It's more informal than plaudern and can sometimes imply talking nonsense or just 'shooting the breeze'.
- Sich unterhalten: The standard, neutral way to say 'to have a conversation'. It can be used in both formal and informal contexts.
- Schreiben: Often used as a shorthand for chatten. "Wir schreiben uns auf WhatsApp" is perhaps even more common than "Wir chatten auf WhatsApp."
- Schnacken: A regional (Northern German) term for chatting or talking. It's very charming and informal.
- Diskutieren: Unlike chatten, this implies a focused debate or a serious discussion about a specific topic.
How Formal Is It?
발음 가이드
난이도
알아야 할 문법
Verbs ending in -ten
Dative case after 'mit'
Accusative case after 'über'
Position of the past participle
수준별 예문
Ich chatte mit meiner Mutter.
I am chatting with my mother.
Present tense, 1st person singular.
Chattest du gerne?
Do you like chatting?
Question form with 'du'.
Wir chatten jeden Tag.
We chat every day.
Present tense, 1st person plural.
Er chattet viel.
He chats a lot.
Note the 'e' in 'chattet'.
Ich habe gestern gechattet.
I chatted yesterday.
Perfekt tense.
Sie chatten auf WhatsApp.
They are chatting on WhatsApp.
Preposition 'auf'.
Mein Bruder chattet mit Freunden.
My brother is chatting with friends.
Subject-verb agreement.
Chatten macht Spaß.
Chatting is fun.
Gerund-like use of the infinitive.
Ich chatte oft mit meinen Großeltern über Skype.
I often chat with my grandparents via Skype.
Using 'über' for the platform.
Warum hast du nicht gechattet?
Why didn't you chat?
Perfect tense question.
Wir haben über den Film gechattet.
We chatted about the movie.
Preposition 'über' + Accusative.
Kannst du heute Abend mit mir chatten?
Can you chat with me tonight?
Modal verb 'können'.
Meine Freunde chatten in einer Gruppe.
My friends chat in a group.
Prepositional phrase 'in einer Gruppe'.
Ich chatte lieber als ich telefoniere.
I prefer chatting to calling.
Comparison with 'lieber als'.
Sie hat die ganze Nacht mit ihm gechattet.
She chatted with him all night.
Time expression 'die ganze Nacht'.
Chattest du auch mit Leuten aus anderen Ländern?
Do you also chat with people from other countries?
Complex prepositional phrase.
Es ist praktisch, mit Kollegen über Slack zu chatten.
It is practical to chat with colleagues via Slack.
Infinitive with 'zu'.
Früher haben wir telefoniert, heute chatten wir meistens.
We used to call, today we mostly chat.
Contrast between past and present.
Ich habe aufgehört zu chatten, um zu schlafen.
I stopped chatting in order to sleep.
Um...zu construction.
Während ich im Bus sitze, chatte ich mit meiner Schwester.
While I'm sitting on the bus, I chat with my sister.
Subordinate clause with 'während'.
Wenn ich Langeweile habe, chatte ich ein bisschen.
When I'm bored, I chat a bit.
Conditional clause with 'wenn'.
Wir haben stundenlang gechattet, ohne es zu merken.
We chatted for hours without noticing it.
Ohne...zu construction.
Darf man während der Arbeit privat chatten?
Is one allowed to chat privately during work?
Modal verb 'dürfen'.
Ich chatte nur mit Personen, die ich persönlich kenne.
I only chat with people I know personally.
Relative clause.
Das Unternehmen bietet einen Service an, bei dem man direkt mit Experten chatten kann.
The company offers a service where you can chat directly with experts.
Relative clause with 'bei dem'.
Viele Jugendliche verbringen zu viel Zeit damit, ziellos zu chatten.
Many young people spend too much time chatting aimlessly.
Pronominal adverb 'damit'.
Anstatt zu telefonieren, sollten wir über die Details chatten.
Instead of calling, we should chat about the details.
Anstatt...zu construction.
Das Chatten hat die Art und Weise, wie wir kommunizieren, grundlegend verändert.
Chatting has fundamentally changed the way we communicate.
Nominalized verb 'Das Chatten'.
Obwohl sie im selben Zimmer saßen, chatteten sie miteinander.
Although they were sitting in the same room, they chatted with each other.
Concessive clause with 'obwohl'.
Ich bevorzuge es zu chatten, da man so eine schriftliche Bestätigung hat.
I prefer chatting because you have written confirmation that way.
Causal clause with 'da'.
Es wird oft kritisiert, dass Menschen nur noch oberflächlich chatten.
It is often criticized that people only chat superficially now.
Passive voice construction.
Bevor wir uns treffen, können wir ja noch kurz chatten.
Before we meet, we can chat briefly.
Temporal clause with 'bevor'.
Die linguistischen Merkmale beim Chatten weichen oft von der Standardsprache ab.
The linguistic features of chatting often deviate from the standard language.
Prepositional object 'beim Chatten'.
Man sollte nicht unterschätzen, wie emotional belastend das Chatten sein kann.
One should not underestimate how emotionally taxing chatting can be.
Indirect question with 'wie'.
In der heutigen Zeit ist das Chatten aus dem Berufsalltag kaum noch wegzudenken.
In today's world, chatting is hard to imagine being absent from everyday work life.
Idiomatic expression 'kaum wegzudenken'.
Durch das ständige Chatten geht die Fähigkeit zur tiefgründigen Konversation verloren.
Through constant chatting, the ability for deep conversation is being lost.
Preposition 'durch' + Accusative.
Es ist fraglich, ob das Chatten echte soziale Kontakte ersetzen kann.
It is questionable whether chatting can replace real social contacts.
Subordinate clause with 'ob'.
Die Anonymität beim Chatten verleitet manche Nutzer zu aggressivem Verhalten.
The anonymity when chatting tempts some users to aggressive behavior.
Verb 'verleiten zu'.
Wir sollten die Angelegenheit im Chat klären, um Zeit zu sparen.
We should clarify the matter in the chat to save time.
Final clause with 'um...zu'.
Trotz der Distanz ermöglicht das Chatten eine Form von Intimität.
Despite the distance, chatting enables a form of intimacy.
Genitive preposition 'trotz'.
Das Phänomen des Chatten-Wollens, ohne etwas Relevantes mitzuteilen, ist weit verbreitet.
The phenomenon of wanting to chat without communicating anything relevant is widespread.
Complex nominalization.
Inwiefern das Chatten die kognitive Entwicklung von Kindern beeinflusst, bleibt umstritten.
To what extent chatting influences the cognitive development of children remains controversial.
Interrogative pronoun 'inwiefern'.
Die Flüchtigkeit des Mediums beim Chatten führt oft zu Missverständnissen.
The transience of the medium when chatting often leads to misunderstandings.
Abstract noun 'Flüchtigkeit'.
Man könnte argumentieren, dass das Chatten eine neue Form der Oralität darstellt.
One could argue that chatting represents a new form of orality.
Subjunctive II 'könnte'.
Die Grenze zwischen privatem Chatten und beruflicher Kommunikation verschwimmt zunehmend.
The boundary between private chatting and professional communication is increasingly blurring.
Subject with 'zwischen'.
Das Chatten fungiert hierbei als Katalysator für soziale Veränderungen.
Chatting acts here as a catalyst for social change.
Verb 'fungieren als'.
Indem wir ständig chatten, entziehen wir uns der unmittelbaren physischen Präsenz.
By constantly chatting, we withdraw from immediate physical presence.
Modal clause with 'indem'.
Die semantische Analyse von Chat-Protokollen offenbart interessante soziolinguistische Muster.
The semantic analysis of chat logs reveals interesting sociolinguistic patterns.
Complex genitive attributes.
동의어
반의어
자주 쓰는 조합
자주 쓰는 구문
자주 혼동되는 단어
관용어 및 표현
혼동하기 쉬운
Digital text communication.
Casual, often offline talking.
Northern German casual talk.
문장 패턴
사용법
It is a fully accepted Anglicism in German.
Only for text, never for voice (unless specified as 'Voice-Chat').
-
Preposition 'mit' is required.
-
Missing linking 'e'.
-
Past participle must go to the end.
-
Wrong tense for past events.
-
Missing 't' ending for 3rd person.
팁
The Linking E
Always add an 'e' before 'st' or 't' endings because the stem ends in 't'.
Digital Only
Never use 'chatten' for talking in person. It sounds very strange to Germans.
WhatsApp Culture
Germans love WhatsApp. If someone says 'Schreib mir', they often mean 'Chatte mit mir auf WhatsApp'.
A2 Exams
You might need to describe your hobbies. 'Chatten' is a perfect word to use for 'Internet' topics.
English Sound
Keep the English 'ch' sound; don't try to make it sound like a German 'ch'.
Short Forms
In actual chats, Germans often leave out the 'e' at the end of 'ich chatte' (ich chatt'), but don't do this in exams!
Office Talk
In a professional setting, you can say 'Lass uns kurz im Chat schreiben'.
Synonyms
Vary your language by using 'schreiben' occasionally instead of 'chatten'.
Identify the Verb
When you hear 'ge-t-tet' at the end of a sentence, it's likely 'gechattet'.
Regularity
Treat it exactly like 'warten' (to wait) or 'arbeiten' (to work).
암기하기
어원
Borrowed from English 'to chat' in the late 1990s.
문화적 맥락
Germans are very sensitive about chat privacy.
It is often considered rude to chat while someone is talking to you in person.
실생활에서 연습하기
실제 사용 상황
대화 시작하기
"Chattest du lieber oder telefonierst du lieber?"
"Mit wem hast du heute schon gechattet?"
"Welche App benutzt du am liebsten zum Chatten?"
"Hast du schon mal mit einem Bot gechattet?"
"Wie viele Stunden am Tag chattest du?"
일기 주제
Schreibe über eine interessante Person, mit der du online gechattet hast.
Ist Chatten eine gute Art, eine Sprache zu lernen? Warum?
Beschreibe deinen typischen Chat-Tag.
Was sind die Nachteile vom ständigen Chatten?
Wie hat sich das Chatten in den letzten zehn Jahren verändert?
자주 묻는 질문
10 질문Usually no. For video calls, use 'skypen', 'facetimen' or 'einen Videoanruf machen'.
No, it is informal to neutral. In formal emails, use 'korrespondieren'.
The past tense (Präteritum) is 'chattete', but the perfect 'habe gechattet' is much more common.
It always takes 'haben' because it is not a verb of movement or change of state.
It is 'der Gruppenchat'.
Yes, 'der Chatter' (male) or 'die Chatterin' (female), but these are rarely used now.
In German, you chat 'with' someone: 'mit jemandem chatten'.
No, it is pronounced like the English 'ch' in 'cheese'.
No, it is a weak (regular) verb.
Yes, it is very common in office contexts for Slack or Teams.
셀프 테스트 180 질문
/ 180 correct
Perfect score!
Summary
Use 'chatten' exclusively for digital text conversations. For physical, casual talking, use 'plaudern' or 'quatschen'. Remember the conjugation: ich chatte, du chattest, er chattet, wir chatten, ihr chattet, sie chatten.
- Chatten is a regular German verb meaning to chat online or via text apps.
- It is strictly for digital communication, not face-to-face talking.
- It requires an extra 'e' in certain conjugations (e.g., du chattest).
- Commonly used with the preposition 'mit' (Dative) and 'über' (Accusative).
The Linking E
Always add an 'e' before 'st' or 't' endings because the stem ends in 't'.
Digital Only
Never use 'chatten' for talking in person. It sounds very strange to Germans.
WhatsApp Culture
Germans love WhatsApp. If someone says 'Schreib mir', they often mean 'Chatte mit mir auf WhatsApp'.
A2 Exams
You might need to describe your hobbies. 'Chatten' is a perfect word to use for 'Internet' topics.
관련 콘텐츠
관련 문법 규칙
관련 표현
communication 관련 단어
Ablehnung
A2거부 또는 거절. 무언가나 누군가를 받아들이지 않는 행위.
abonnieren
B1정기적으로 잡지나 스트리밍 서비스 등을 신청해서 자동으로 받는 것을 말해요.
Absage
B1거절 또는 취소. '입사 거절 통보를 받았다.'
absagen
A2약속이나 행사를 취소하다
Abschied
A2작별 인사를 하거나 떠나는 행위. 친구나 가족과 헤어지는 순간입니다.
Absender
A1편지나 소포 등을 보내는 사람이나 단체를 말합니다. 발송의 출처입니다.
Achtung
A2주의! 기차가 들어오고 있습니다.
Ähnlichkeit
A2두 대상이 서로 비슷하거나 공통된 특징을 가지고 있는 상태를 말해.
Akzent
A2그는 독일어 억양이 매우 강합니다.
anbieten
A1제공하다, 제안하다. '나는 당신에게 도움을 제안합니다.' (Ich biete Ihnen Hilfe an.)
