das  Dossier

B2

Estimated CEFR level.

/dɔsiˈeːɐ̯/

📚 What exactly is a Dossier?

The word Dossier (pronounced [dɔˈsi̯eː] in German) is a noun of neuter gender (*sächlich*). It refers to a collection of documents, files, or papers related to a specific topic, person, or case. You can think of it as a thematically organized file or portfolio.

It is often used in the context of investigations (*Ermittlungen* - by police or secret services), personnel files (*Personalakten*), project documentation (*Projektunterlagen*), or journalistic research (*journalistische Recherchen*).

🚨 There is only one article: das Dossier. There's no risk of confusion with other articles.

Article rules for der, die, and das

🧐 Grammar in Detail: Das Dossier

The noun „Dossier“ is neuter (*sächlich*) and is declined as follows:

📝 Example Sentences

1. Der Detektiv legte das Dossier über den Verdächtigen auf den Tisch.
   (The detective placed the dossier about the suspect on the table.)
2. Die Journalistin sammelte Informationen für ihr Dossier über den Skandal.
   (The journalist gathered information for her dossier on the scandal.)
3. In der Personalabteilung werden die Dossiers aller Mitarbeiter aufbewahrt.
   (The personnel department keeps the dossiers of all employees.)
4. Dieses umfangreiche Dossier enthält alle relevanten Forschungsergebnisse.
   (This comprehensive dossier contains all relevant research findings.)

💡 How to Use "Dossier"?

The term „Dossier“ is mostly used in more formal contexts. You often find it in:

• Administration and Authorities (*Verwaltung und Behörden*): e.g., personnel files (*Personalakten*), case files (*Vorgangsmappen*).
• Justice and Police (*Justiz und Polizei*): investigation files (*Ermittlungsakten*) on a case or person.
• Journalism and Research (*Journalismus und Forschung*): collections of research material on a topic.
• Business (*Wirtschaft*): project documents (*Projektunterlagen*), customer files (*Kundendossiers*).

In everyday language, „Unterlagen“ (*documents*), „Akte“ (*file*), or „Mappe“ (*folder*) are often more common, but „Dossier“ implies a more comprehensive, focused collection of information.

Comparison:

• Akte: Similar, often more specific to a legal or administrative process.
• Unterlagen (Plural): General term for documents of any kind.
• Mappe: Refers more to the physical folder than the content.

🧠 Mnemonics to Remember

Article Mnemonic: Imagine a secure, neutral vault (neuter gender!) where DAS central archive stores all DAS Dossiers. The vault protects DAS Dossier.

Meaning Mnemonic: Think of the English word "doss", as in someone carefully putting together or organizing information. A Dossier is a collection where information has been carefully 'dossed' together.

🔄 Synonyms & Antonyms

⚠️ Similar, but different words:

• Dokument: A single document, which can be part of a Dossier.
• Bericht: A report, often found within a Dossier.

😂 A Little Joke

Warum hat der Spion sein Dossier zum Bäcker mitgenommen?
Weil er hoffte, es würde dort „aufgehen“!

(Why did the spy take his dossier to the bakery?
Because he hoped it would “rise” there! - “aufgehen” means both to rise (like dough) and to be revealed or solved).

📜 A Poem about the Dossier

Ein Stapel Papier, geheim und schwer,
das Dossier erzählt, was keiner mehr
zu wissen glaubt, verborgen tief,
ein Fall, der lange, lange schlief.

Gesammelt, sortiert, mit Bedacht,
hat jemand hier die Nacht durchwacht.
Jedes Blatt ein Puzzlestück,
zum großen Ganzen, Schritt für Schritt zurück.

A stack of paper, secret and deep,
the dossier tells what secrets keep.
Of things forgotten, hidden away,
a case that slumbered, day by day.

Collected, sorted, with great care,
someone stayed up, beyond compare.
Each page a piece of puzzle's art,
to the whole picture, back to the start.

❓ A Little Riddle

Ich bin eine Sammlung, doch kein Album für Lieder.
Ich halte Fakten fest, immer und immer wieder.
Mal über Personen, mal über einen Plan,
ich bringe Licht ins Dunkel, fange von vorne an.

Was bin ich?

(I am a collection, but not an album for songs.
I record facts, again and again.
Sometimes about people, sometimes about a plan,
I bring light into darkness, start from the beginning.

What am I?)

Solution: das Dossier

✨ Other Information

Etymology: The word „Dossier“ comes from French. Dossier originally meant 'bundle of papers', derived from dos ('back'), because notes used to be written on the back of documents or file bundles were labeled on the spine ('back').

Usage in specialized language: The term is particularly established in criminology (*Kriminalistik*), journalism (*Journalismus*), and political science (*Politikwissenschaft*), often referring to extensive collections of sensitive or relevant information.