die  Predigt

B2

Estimated CEFR level.

/ˈpʁeːdɪkt/

📖 What exactly is a Predigt?

The word die Predigt (feminine, plural: die Predigten) mainly has two meanings:

1. Religious Context: A speech, usually delivered by a member of the clergy (like a Pfarrer - pastor or Priester - priest) during a church service (Gottesdienst), interpreting a religious or moral text and applying it to life. This is the most common meaning. 🛐
2. Colloquial (often negative): A long, admonishing, or lecturing speech; a telling-off or scolding. One might say someone is "giving someone a lecture" (jemandem eine Predigt halten). 🗣️
   Example: "Hör auf, mir eine Predigt zu halten, ich weiß selbst, was ich falsch gemacht habe!" (Stop lecturing me, I know what I did wrong!)

⚠️ There is only one article, die, for this word as it is feminine.

🧐 Grammar Spotlight: Die Predigt

The noun "Predigt" is feminine. Here is its declension:

Example Sentences

• Der Pfarrer hielt eine bewegende Predigt über Nächstenliebe. (The pastor gave a moving sermon about charity/love for one's neighbor.)
• Nach dem Streit musste ich mir eine lange Predigt von meinen Eltern anhören. (After the argument, I had to listen to a long lecture from my parents.)
• Die Predigten dieses Theologen sind oft sehr tiefgründig. (This theologian's sermons are often very profound.)

🗣️ How to Use "die Predigt"?

The term die Predigt is primarily used in a religious context to refer to the address given during a church service (Gottesdienst). It serves the purpose of proclamation and interpretation of religious content.

In a figurative, colloquial sense, "jemandem eine Predigt halten" (to give someone a sermon/lecture) describes an often unwanted, lengthy admonition or instruction, similar to a scolding (Standpauke).

Distinction from similar words:

• Vortrag: Usually factual, informative, often in education or business (lecture, presentation).
• Ansprache: Often shorter, for a specific occasion (anniversary, celebration) (address, speech).
• Rede: General term for an oral presentation to an audience, can be political, ceremonial, etc. (speech).
• Standpauke: Purely negative, a harsh reprimand (scolding, telling-off).

Die Predigt stands out due to its religious origin and often moral or interpretive nature, or by the nagging undertone in its colloquial variant.

🧠 Mnemonics for Predigt

Article Mnemonic: Many German nouns derived from verbs without an ending and ending in -t are feminine (die): die Fahrt (from fahren - to drive), die Sicht (from sehen - to see), die Predigt (from predigen - to preach). Think: "The sermon ('Predigt') takes quite some time; words ending in t are often feminine ('die')."

Meaning Mnemonic: The word comes from the verb predigen (to preach). Imagine someone PREaching DIGniTy -> Pre-dig-t. Or associate 'Predigt' with the English 'predict' – a sermon often predicts consequences or promises rewards based on behavior.

🔄 Similar & Different: Synonyms and Antonyms

Potential for Confusion? The word Prediger refers to the person giving the sermon (preacher, usually masculine: der Prediger, feminine: die Predigerin).

😄 A Little Joke

Fragt der Pfarrer nach der Predigt einen Kirchgänger: "Nun, wie hat Ihnen meine Predigt gefallen?"
Der Kirchgänger: "Sehr gut, Herr Pfarrer! Aber Sünde macht trotzdem mehr Spaß!"

Translation:
After the sermon, the pastor asks a churchgoer: "Well, how did you like my sermon?"
The churchgoer: "Very good, Pastor! But sinning is still more fun!"

📜 Poem about the Predigt

In der Kirche, still und alt,
die Orgel klingt, die Luft ist kalt.
Der Pfarrer spricht mit ernstem Ton,
die Predigt schallt vom heil'gen Thron.

Von Glauben, Hoffnung, Zuversicht,
von Dunkelheit und hellem Licht.
Manch einer hört andächtig zu,
ein andrer schlummert sanft in Ruh'.

Doch auch zu Haus', wenn's Ärger gibt,
wird schnell 'ne Predigt zugeschiebt.
Ein Wort, das lehrt, ermahnt, erklärt,
mal heilig, mal sehr unerhört.

Translation:
In the church, quiet and old,
the organ sounds, the air is cold.
The pastor speaks in solemn tone,
the sermon rings from sacred throne.

Of faith, of hope, of confidence,
of darkness and of light's bright sense.
Some listen with devotion true,
another slumbers gently through.

But also home, when trouble's near,
a lecture quickly does appear.
A word that teaches, warns, makes clear,
sometimes holy, sometimes quite severe.

❓ Little Riddle

Ich werde oft am Sonntag gehalten,
von Geistlichen, den Jungen und Alten.
Ich kann ermahnen, trösten und lehren,
manchmal muss man sich meiner auch wehren,
wenn sie zu lang und tadelnd klingt.
Sag, welches Wort man hier wohl singt?

Translation:
I am often held on Sundays,
By clergy, the young and the old ones.
I can admonish, comfort, and teach,
Sometimes you must resist my speech,
When I sound too long and scolding.
Tell me, what word is unfolding?

Solution: die Predigt (the sermon/lecture)

💡 More Trivia

Word Origin: The word "Predigt" comes from the Old High German "predigōt" and traces back to the Latin verb praedicāre, which means "to state publicly, proclaim, praise, preach".

Compounds: There are several compound words, such as die Strafpredigt (a scolding speech), die Moralpredigt (a moralizing lecture), or die Gardinenpredigt (literally 'curtain lecture', an old-fashioned term for a telling-off given in private, often by a wife to her husband).