das
Wrack
🚢 What exactly is a 'Wrack'?
The word das Wrack (neuter gender) primarily refers to the remains of a destroyed vehicle, especially a ship or aircraft that has sunk or crashed. It can also refer to badly damaged cars or other vehicles. We call this a wreck or wreckage in English.
Additionally, das Wrack is used figuratively:
- It can describe a person who is physically or mentally completely exhausted or ruined (a human wreck).
- It can also be used for a building or object that is in a very poor, dilapidated condition (a ruin).
🚨 There is only one article for this word: das. Using 'der' or 'die' is incorrect.
📐 Grammar of 'das Wrack' in Detail
The noun "Wrack" is neuter (sächlich). It follows the strong declension pattern (starke Deklination).
| Case | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative (Subject) | das | Wrack |
| Genitive (Possessive) | des | Wracks |
| Dative (Indirect Object) | dem | Wrack |
| Accusative (Direct Object) | das | Wrack |
| Case | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | die | Wracks |
| Genitive | der | Wracks |
| Dative | den | Wracks |
| Accusative | die | Wracks |
Note: The plural form "Wracke" is archaic or very rare.
Example Sentences
- Das Wrack der Titanic liegt tief im Atlantik. (The wreck of the Titanic lies deep in the Atlantic.)
- Nach dem Unfall war das Auto nur noch ein Wrack. (After the accident, the car was just a wreck.)
- Er sah nach der Krankheit wie ein menschliches Wrack aus. (He looked like a human wreck after the illness.)
- Taucher erkundeten die alten Wracks vor der Küste. (Divers explored the old wrecks off the coast.)
- Der Sturm hinterließ mehrere Wracks am Strand. (The storm left several wrecks on the beach.)
💡 Everyday Usage
"Das Wrack" is often used in specific contexts:
- Shipping & Aviation: When talking about sunken ships or crashed airplanes. Often found in news, documentaries, or historical reports. (Das Schiffswrack - shipwreck, das Flugzeugwrack - plane wreck)
- Road Traffic: After severe accidents to describe an irreparably damaged vehicle. (Das Autowrack - car wreck)
- Figurative (People): To express extreme physical or psychological deterioration. This can be meant sympathetically or pejoratively. Use with caution!
- Figurative (Things): For buildings or objects that are heavily dilapidated and unusable.
Compared to Ruine (ruin, often for buildings) or Trümmer (debris, rubble, often more non-specific remains), Wrack usually refers to the recognizable remains of a structured object, especially a vehicle.
🧠 Mnemonics for 'das Wrack'
Article 'das': Think of something neutral, destroyed. A concept like 'the end' (das Ende) or 'fate' (das Schicksal) is often 'das'. The destroyed remnant, das Wrack, fits this neutral, object-like category.
Meaning: The German word Wrack sounds very similar to the English word "wreck". If you can remember the English word, you already know the primary meaning of das Wrack!
🔄 Similar and Opposite Terms
Synonyms (Similar Meaning):
- Trümmer (pl.): Debris, rubble (often less specific than Wrack).
- Ruine: Ruin (especially for buildings).
- Schrotthaufen: Scrap heap (colloquial for a wrecked car or scrap metal).
- Überreste (pl.): Remains, remnants (general term).
- (Figurative, for person): Ruin, Schatten seiner selbst (shadow of his/her former self).
⚠️ Caution: Don't confuse Wrack with Recke (hero, warrior) or Wickel (wrap, swaddle; also hassle/dispute).
😂 A Little Joke
German: Fragt der Fahrlehrer den nervösen Schüler nach der katastrophalen Einparkübung: "Sagen Sie mal, haben Sie Ihren Führerschein im Lotto gewonnen oder aus einem Wrack gezogen?"
English Translation: The driving instructor asks the nervous student after the disastrous parking attempt: "Tell me, did you win your driver's license in the lottery, or did you pull it out of a wreck?"
📜 A Wreck Poem
German:
Tief im Meer, von Sand bedeckt,
liegt ein Schiff, als Wrack versteckt.
Einst stolz und groß auf Wellenritt,
nun stummer Zeuge vergang'ner Zeit.
Fische schwimmen durch den Rumpf,
Korallen wachsen auf dem Stumpf.
Das Meer erzählt, leis und sacht,
vom Schicksal, das es hat vollbracht.
English Translation:
Deep in the sea, covered by sand,
lies a ship, hidden as a wreck.
Once proud and large riding the waves,
now a silent witness of past times.
Fish swim through the hull,
Corals grow on the stump.
The sea tells, softly and gently,
of the fate it has fulfilled.
❓ Riddle Time
German:
Ich war einst stolz auf See und Land,
doch nun lieg ich auf Grund und Sand.
Mein Körper rostet, ist zerbrochen,
hab seit Langem nicht gesprochen.
Manchmal suchen Taucher mich,
mein alter Glanz, er ist verblich.
Was bin ich?
English Translation:
I was once proud on sea and land,
but now I lie on seabed and sand.
My body rusts, is broken,
I haven't spoken for a long time.
Sometimes divers search for me,
my old glory has faded.
What am I?
Solution: das Wrack (the wreck)
🧐 Other Information
Etymology: The German word "Wrack" comes from the Middle Low German / Middle Dutch word wrak, which meant "damaged ship" or "goods washed ashore". It is related to the English word "wreck".
Compounds (Wortzusammensetzungen): The word is often used in compound nouns to specify the type of wreck: Schiffswrack (shipwreck), Autowrack (car wreck), Flugzeugwrack (plane wreck), Eisenbahnwrack (train wreck).
📝 Summary: is it der, die or das Wrack?
The German word "Wrack" always uses the article das. It is a neuter noun and refers to the remains of a destroyed vehicle or, figuratively, to a ruined person or thing. The plural form is "die Wracks".
