jein
yes and no, sort of
Pronunciation
/jaɪ̯n/
Cultural Note
A brilliant portmanteau of 'ja' (yes) and 'nein' (no). 'Jein' perfectly captures ambivalence or a conditional answer. It's widely used in everyday German and even made famous by the band Fettes Brot with their hit song 'Jein' (1996). It demonstrates the German love of precision — even indecision gets its own word.
📝 Example Sentences
Willst du mitkommen? — Jein, eigentlich schon, aber ich bin müde.
Do you want to come along? — Sort of, I do actually, but I'm tired.
Die Antwort ist jein.
The answer is yes and no.
Jein, das stimmt so halb.
Well, sort of — that's half true.
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