The Englisch Translation of Doch (An Untranslatable German Word)

The German word 'doch' is often translated in dictionaries as 'but' or 'nevertheless'–however, ULM X would like to propose another translation, the true translation.

This video is proudly presented by the ULM X iOS App: Advanced English for German Natives

[Awesomemomy]

Völlig egal, ob deine Erklärung des Wortes "doch" korrekt ist, oder nicht ... ich finde sie gut!
Jahaa ... trifft es in meinen Augen ziemlich gut.

[Baccatube]

German fillers are a mouthful. Ja, halt, doch, eben, mal, nun, gar and some others sneak their way into German phrases and it takes both experience and practice to get the hang of when to use which particle. And once you've started, you'll notice they even come in clusters with a special sequencing that can change the meaning of the whole phrase... I can't even.
As for doch, Matthew has explained that one brilliantly. Grammatically speaking, "doch" is the positive answer to a negated question. (Hast Du Dir kein Essen gemacht? - Doch! = Didn't you make yourself something to eat? Yes, I did!). In fact, German and English are so similar, that the few differences stick out like a sore thumb, and "doch" is one of the biggest differences.

[BlackAmberMoon]

I'm from NH, too, and I'm learning German. LOVE your videos. Thanks a million.

[Toni-ordk]

Fairly interesting those tiny details.

Since I do speak English fluently and lived in Britian for some time as well I never thought about the translation of doch.
You gave me kind of inspiration or kind of splinter in my mind by thinking about other words in either language where are no exact translations for.

I just explored your channel by chance during the weekend and very much enjoy it.
I have been addicted to compare languages a bit for myself since I learned Latin in school and began to realize I can connect knowledges in latin with those in English or French as they are all latin based languages.

So keep going and best greetings to Schwaben! :-)

[thestonegateroadrunner]

Your teacher's explanation is wrong or at least not explanatory. Here a more systematic explanation:
DOCH is the contradicting YES you give as an answer to a negative question.
Hast Du den Herd nicht ausgeschaltet? Doch!
Didn't you turn off the stove? YES, I did! (or, YA-A in your childhood)
YES (ja) to a negative question confirms (in this case YES I actually didn't turn it off), DOCH contradicts (YES I turned it off).
The same distinction exists in French with Oui (ja) and Si (doch).

[BSJDynasty]

when i'm using the word like this "das geht doch nicht" oder "du hast doch gesagt, dass..." your explanation doesn't apply anymore. so it's even harder to translate...

[furzkram]

But the one you mean here is what would translate to "YES, it IS" in english the best.
Maybe make up a better example of its use - in English, a conversation going like: "This is red. -- No (, it isn't)! -- YES, it IS!" and in German like "Das ist rot. -- Nein (ist es nicht)! -- DOCH (, IST es)!"

[michaelk.]

Hallo,

Ich bin deutscher Muttersprachler und mein Englisch hält sich eher in Grenzen. Aber wäre die inhaltliche Übersetzung von „doch“ nicht:
Indeed!
Isn‘t it!
In fact!

Doch wird häufig als ein „bestimmendes/verstärktes und widersprechendes ja“ verwendet. „Ohne Widerworte!“ sozusagen!

Beispiele:
Doch, es ist so, wie ich es gesagt habe!
Doch, das Auto fuhr zu schnell!

Es gibt doch aber auch in der Frageform:

Das Auto fuhr doch zu schnell, oder?
Es war doch so, wie ich es gesagt habe? (Oder?)

Beste Grüße