die
Vergeltung
🎯 What does "die Vergeltung" mean?
Die Vergeltung (noun, feminine) describes an action taken in response to a perceived injustice, harm, or insult. It's about paying back in kind or creating a form of (often negative) balance. The motive can be *Rache* (revenge), but also a sense of justice or deterrence.
- As a reaction to injustice: Sie schworen Vergeltung für den Angriff. (They swore retaliation for the attack.)
- In the sense of retribution/payback: Seine Taten forderten Vergeltung. (His actions demanded retribution.)
- Sometimes more neutral or even positive (rare): Göttliche Vergeltung (divine retribution, in the sense of balancing justice).
⚠️ Important: Vergeltung is mostly used in negative or at least serious contexts. It's stronger than a simple reaction and often implies a deliberate act of paying back.
Article rules for der, die, and das
-ung → always feminine.
There are many -ung words, we won't list them all. There are only a few exceptions.
🧐 Grammar of Vergeltung in Detail
The word "Vergeltung" is a feminine noun. The article is die.
Declension Singular
| Case | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | die | Vergeltung |
| Genitive | der | Vergeltung |
| Dative | der | Vergeltung |
| Accusative | die | Vergeltung |
Declension Plural
The plural of "Vergeltung" (die Vergeltungen) is used very rarely, as it usually refers to an abstract concept or a specific act. If used, it refers to multiple individual acts of retribution.
| Case | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | die | Vergeltungen |
| Genitive | der | Vergeltungen |
| Dative | den | Vergeltungen |
| Accusative | die | Vergeltungen |
📝 Example Sentences
- Aus Angst vor Vergeltung schwieg er.
(Out of fear of retaliation, he remained silent.) - Die angedrohte Vergeltung blieb glücklicherweise aus.
(Fortunately, the threatened retribution did not happen.) - Manche sehen in der Strafe eine Form der gesellschaftlichen Vergeltung.
(Some see punishment as a form of societal retribution.) - Im Krieg folgte auf den Angriff oft die sofortige Vergeltung.
(In war, the attack was often followed by immediate retaliation.)
🗣️ How is "Vergeltung" used?
"Vergeltung" is typically used in contexts relating to conflicts, injustice, punishment, or revenge.
- Conflicts & War: Militärische Vergeltung (military retaliation), Vergeltungsschlag (retaliatory strike).
- Crime & Punishment: As a motive for crimes or as an aspect of punishment (controversial).
- Personal Conflicts: Someone sinnt auf Vergeltung (plots revenge/retaliation) for an insult or betrayal.
- Mythology & Religion: Göttliche Vergeltung (divine retribution) for sins.
Comparison with similar words
🧠 Mnemonics for Vergeltung
Article Mnemonic (die): Many German nouns ending in -ung are feminine. Think of: die Meinung (opinion), die Hoffnung (hope), die Leitung (management/pipe)... and therefore also die Vergeltung!
Meaning Mnemonic: The word contains "gelt". Imagine someone has to pay "Geld" (money) for a deed or something has to "gelten" (count/be valid) in the sense of atoning – they have to vergelten (retaliate/requite). Die Vergeltung is the act itself. Think of it as 'getting' someone back.
↔️ Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms (similar meaning)
- Rache: Revenge (more personal, emotional).
- Revanche: Revenge, rematch (often in sports/games, but also payback).
- Heimzahlung: Payback, retribution (literal translation of the concept).
- Gegenmaßnahme: Countermeasure (neutral term for a reaction).
- Strafe: Punishment, penalty (formal sanction).
- Abrechnung: Settling of accounts, reckoning (often figurative).
Antonyms (opposite meaning)
- Vergebung: Forgiveness.
- Versöhnung: Reconciliation.
- Gnade: Mercy, grace.
- Nachsicht: Forbearance, leniency.
⚠️ Similar but misleading words
😂 A Little Joke
Warum nehmen Glühbirnen nie Vergeltung?
Weil sie lieber ausbrennen als durchzudrehen! 😉
(Why do lightbulbs never take revenge/retaliate?
Because they prefer to burn out rather than go crazy/flip out! - Play on "durchdrehen" meaning both "to spin/go crazy" and related to electrical circuits)
📜 Poem about Vergeltung
Ein Funke Zorn, ein Schrei nach Recht,
Die Seele fordert, schlecht für schlecht.
Die Vergeltung, kalt und klar,
Macht oft den Kreis nur wunderbar...
...zu schließen, bis ein neuer Streit
Entfacht in alter Bitterkeit.
(A spark of anger, a cry for right,
The soul demands, wrong for wrong's might.
Retaliation, cold and clear,
Often makes the circle wonderfully near...
...to closing, till a new dispute
Ignites in ancient bitter root.)
❓ Riddle
Ich bin die Antwort auf den Schmerz,
Ein Echo oft von kaltem Herz.
Manchmal gerecht, oft voller Wut,
Ich zahle heim, mit gleicher Glut.
Was bin ich?
(I am the answer to the pain,
An echo often from a cold heart's domain.
Sometimes just, often full of ire,
I pay back home, with equal fire.
What am I?)
(Solution: die Vergeltung / retaliation)
🧩 Other Information
Etymology
"Vergeltung" derives from the verb "vergelten". The prefix "ver-" intensifies or modifies the meaning of the base verb "gelten". Originally, "gelten" also meant "to pay, to be worth, to sacrifice". So, "vergelten" meant "to repay", "to compensate", but also "to pay back" in a negative sense (retaliate). The suffix "-ung" forms the noun, describing the action or result.
Cultural Context
The concept of Vergeltung is deeply embedded in many cultures and legal systems (e.g., the principle of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" in the Old Testament). At the same time, there are strong ethical and religious traditions emphasizing forgiveness and non-violence as alternatives to retaliation.
📝 Summary: is it der, die or das Vergeltung?
The correct article for the word Vergeltung is die. It is a feminine noun (die Vergeltung, der Vergeltung, ...). It describes a reaction to perceived injustice, often in the sense of payback or retribution.