Definition
A written message on paper, usually sent in an envelope.
Translations
- English
- letter
- Français
- lettre
- Türkçe
- mektup
- Polski
- list
- Русский
- письмо
- Українська
- лист
GERMAN DICTIONARY
der Brief
- A1
- Noun
- Communication
- Services & Everyday Tasks
letter
/deːɐ̯ bʁiːf/
Meaning and translations
Meaning, definition and translations of this sense.
Grammar & classification
Main grammatical and classification properties of the word.
- Article
- der
- Gender
- Masculine
- Plural
- Briefe
- Part of speech
- Noun
- CEFR level
- A1
- Morphology
- Borrowing
- Topics
- CommunicationPrimaryServices & Everyday Tasks
Usage examples
Examples showing real usage and grammatical forms.
- Der Brief liegt schon im Briefkasten.NominativSing.The letter is already in the mailbox.
- Sie liest den Brief am Abend.AkkusativSing.She reads the letter in the evening.
- Ich antworte dem Brief mit einer kurzen Nachricht.DativSing.I reply to the letter with a short message.
- Die Adresse des Briefs steht auf dem Umschlag.GenitivSing.The letter's address is on the envelope.
- Die Briefe liegen auf dem Tisch.NominativPlur.The letters are on the table.
- Sie verschickt die Briefe heute.AkkusativPlur.She is mailing the letters today.
- Der Lehrer gibt den Briefen neue Umschläge.DativPlur.The teacher gives the letters new envelopes.
- Die Umschläge der Briefe sind bunt.GenitivPlur.The envelopes of the letters are colorful.
Pronunciation and forms
Pronunciation and audio for the lemma and important forms.
-
Lemma
Brief/bʁiːf/
-
Article phrase
der Brief/deːɐ̯ bʁiːf/
-
Plural
Briefe/ˈbʁiːfə/
Declension / Forms
How the noun changes across German cases and singular or plural.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | der Brief | die Briefe |
| Akkusativ | den Brief | die Briefe |
| Dativ | dem Brief | den Briefen |
| Genitiv | des Briefs | der Briefe |
Usage and collocations
Typical constructions, prepositions and word combinations.
- Adjective combinationein persönlicher Brief
- Collocationeinen Brief schreiben
- Collocationeinen Brief verschicken
- Verb constructioneinem Brief antworten + Dativ
- Prepositional constructionmit einem Brief antwortenmit + Dativ
- Sentence patternDer Brief kommt morgen an.
Semantic relations
How this meaning relates to other meanings and easily confused words.
- Near-synonymSchreiben — formal letter
A Schreiben usually denotes a formal Brief; Brief is broader and can also be personal.
- Broader termNachricht — message
A Brief is a specific, usually postal form of a Nachricht.
- Related termE-Mail — email
Brief and E-Mail are different forms of written messages; Brief is typically sent on paper.
- Related termPostkarte — postcard
Brief and Postkarte are postal written documents, but they differ in form and privacy.
Word formation and word family
How the word is formed and its reviewed lexical family.
Formation typeBorrowing
„Brief“ is an established loanword; no productive synchronic decomposition is discernible.
Word family
- Briefkasten — letterbox
- Briefmarke — postage stamp