die
Prognose
🔮 What does "die Prognose" mean?
Die Prognose (noun, feminine) means a forecast, prediction, or outlook about the future course or outcome of a specific event, usually based on scientific analysis or experience. It often relies on analyzing data and trends.
Common fields of application include:
- Medicine: Assessing the course of a patient's illness (Krankheitsverlauf).
- Economy: Predicting economic development, e.g., a Wachstumsprognose (growth forecast).
- Weather: Weather forecast (Wetterprognose).
- Sports: Predicting game results.
- Elections: Assessing election outcomes (Wahlprognose).
It's important to know that a Prognose always involves uncertainties and is not a guarantee for the future. ⚠️ It's an assessment (Einschätzung), not a fact (Tatsache).
Article rules for der, die, and das
-e/-ee → almost always feminine.
There are many -e nouns, many of which are feminine, but there are also some important exceptions.
📊 Grammar Deep Dive: Die Prognose
The word "Prognose" is a feminine noun and always takes the article "die". It follows regular declension patterns.
| Case | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | die | Prognose |
| Genitive | der | Prognose |
| Dative | der | Prognose |
| Accusative | die | Prognose |
| Case | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | die | Prognosen |
| Genitive | der | Prognosen |
| Dative | den | Prognosen |
| Accusative | die | Prognosen |
Example Sentences:
- Die ärztliche Prognose für den Patienten ist günstig.
(The medical prognosis for the patient is favorable.) - Die wirtschaftlichen Prognosen wurden nach unten korrigiert.
(The economic forecasts were revised downwards.) - Aufgrund der aktuellen Datenlage ist eine genaue Prognose schwierig.
(Based on the current data, an accurate prediction is difficult.) - Die Wetterprognose für morgen verspricht Sonnenschein.
(The weather forecast for tomorrow promises sunshine.)
💡 How to use "Prognose"?
"Prognose" is used when talking about a well-founded prediction based on analysis or experience. It's often more specific and scientific than a simple guess (Vermutung) or hunch (Ahnung).
- Context: Frequently found in scientific, medical, economic, or meteorological contexts.
- Distinction:
- Typical Verbs: eine Prognose stellen (to make a prognosis), eine Prognose abgeben (to give a prognosis), eine Prognose erstellen (to create a prognosis), die Prognose lautet (the prognosis is).
- Typical Adjectives: eine gute/schlechte Prognose (a good/bad prognosis), eine vorsichtige/optimistische/pessimistische Prognose (a cautious/optimistic/pessimistic prognosis), eine langfristige/kurzfristige Prognose (a long-term/short-term prognosis).
🧠 Mnemonics for Prognose
Article Mnemonic: Many medical or scientific terms ending in "-ose" in German are feminine (like die Diagnose, die Neurose). Think of die Analyse, die Hypothese, die Prognose – all feminine in the realm of knowledge! Or imagine: A female fortune teller gives die Prognose. 😉
Meaning Mnemonic: "Pro-" means "before" or "forward" (like in progress). "-gnose" comes from the Greek "gnosis" (knowledge). So, Pro-gnose is like "fore-knowledge" or "pre-cognition". You try to know what happens before it happens (in the future). Think of making progress by having a good Prognose.
↔️ Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms (Similar Meaning):
- Vorhersage: Very common synonym, often interchangeable (forecast, prediction).
- Voraussage: Similar to Vorhersage (prediction, forecast).
- Erwartung: Expectation, what is considered likely.
- Ausblick: Outlook, often used in business contexts (e.g., business outlook).
- Einschätzung: Assessment, emphasizes the evaluation aspect of the future situation.
Antonyms (Opposite Meaning):
- Rückblick: Retrospect, review of the past.
- Analyse (der Gegenwart): Analysis (of the present), examination of the current state.
- Diagnose: Diagnosis, identification of a current situation/illness.
- Tatsache/Fakt: Fact, something that has already happened or is proven.
- Bericht: Report, description of past events.
Similar but Different Words:
😂 A Little Joke
Warum sind Wetterfrösche so schlecht im Pokern?
Weil sie immer ihre Prognosen verraten! 🐸
Translation: Why are weather forecasters (lit. weather frogs) so bad at poker?
Because they always reveal their forecasts/predictions (Prognosen)!
📜 Poem about Prognose
Die Zukunft liegt im Nebelmeer,
Daten sammeln, fällt nicht schwer.
Man rechnet hin, man rechnet her,
die Prognose bitte sehr!
Mal trifft sie zu, mal liegt sie krumm,
das Warten macht die Leute dumm.
Doch hoffnungsvoll schaut man nicht stumm,
auf das, was kommt – warum?
Weil Wissen lockt, der Blick nach vorn,
ein neuer Plan, frisch auserkorn.
Translation:
The future lies in misty seas,
Collecting data is a breeze.
Calculations here, calculations there,
The prognosis, if you please!
Sometimes it's right, sometimes it's bent,
The waiting makes the people spent.
But hopefully, one looks not mute,
At what's to come – why the pursuit?
Because knowledge calls, the forward gaze,
A new plan born in hopeful haze.
❓ A Little Riddle
Ich blicke in die Zeit voraus,
mal bring ich Freude, mal den Graus.
Bin oft in Zahlen ausgedrückt,
hab Ärzte und auch Chefs entzückt (oder erschreckt!).
Ich bin nie sicher, nur ein Blick,
auf das, was kommt, Stück für Stück.
Was bin ich?
Lösung: die Prognose
Translation:
I look ahead into time,
Sometimes bringing joy, sometimes grime.
I'm often expressed in numbers neat,
Have thrilled (or scared) doctors and the corporate elite!
I'm never certain, just a peek,
At what's to come, week by week.
What am I?
Solution: die Prognose (the prognosis/forecast)
🧩 Other Information
Word Origin: The word "Prognose" comes from the Greek word prógnōsis (πρόγνωσις), meaning "foreknowledge" or "preconception". It is composed of pro- ("before") and gnōsis ("knowledge").
Compounds: "Prognose" is often part of compound nouns (zusammengesetzte Substantive) that specify the area of the forecast:
- Wetterprognose (Weather forecast)
- Wirtschaftsprognose (Economic forecast)
- Wahlprognose (Election forecast)
- Absatzprognose (Sales forecast)
- Krankheitsprognose (Disease prognosis)
- Langzeitprognose / Kurzzeitprognose (Long-term / Short-term forecast)
📝 Summary: is it der, die or das Prognose?
The German word Prognose is always feminine. Therefore, the correct article is exclusively die Prognose. Remember: die Vorhersage (forecast), die Einschätzung (assessment), die Prognose.