die  Zusammensetzung

B2

Estimated CEFR level.

/ˈtsuːzamənˌzɛt͡sʊŋ/

🧩 What does "die Zusammensetzung" mean?

Die Zusammensetzung (feminine, plural: die Zusammensetzungen) describes how something is built up from different parts or elements. It refers to the way components are combined to form a whole.

Imagine building something with Lego bricks – the way you put together (zusammensetzen) the bricks results in the composition (die Zusammensetzung) of your creation.

The main meanings are:

• Composition/Make-up: The components something consists of (e.g., die Zusammensetzung of a medicine, a food item).
• Structure/Constitution: How something is internally organized or structured (e.g., die Zusammensetzung of a team, a material).
• Assembly: The way parts are put together.

It's a noun derived from the verb zusammensetzen (to put together, assemble, compose). The ending -ung almost always indicates a feminine noun (die).

Article rules for der, die, and das

📜 Grammar of "Zusammensetzung" in Detail

"Zusammensetzung" is a feminine noun. The article is therefore always die.

Singular Declension

Plural Declension

Example Sentences 📝

1. Die Zusammensetzung des Medikaments ist geheim.
   (The composition of the medicine is secret.)
2. Der Chemiker analysiert die Zusammensetzung der Probe.
   (The chemist analyzes the composition of the sample.)
3. Wir arbeiten an der optimalen Zusammensetzung des Teams.
   (We are working on the optimal composition of the team.)
4. Die Untersuchung der Zusammensetzung des Materials ergab interessante Fakten.
   (The investigation of the material's composition revealed interesting facts.)
5. Die verschiedenen Zusammensetzungen der Legierungen wurden verglichen.
   (The different compositions of the alloys were compared.)

💡 How to use "die Zusammensetzung"?

"Zusammensetzung" is frequently used in scientific, technical, and everyday contexts to describe the make-up or components of something:

• Chemistry & Materials Science: Die chemische Zusammensetzung (the chemical composition) of a substance, die Zusammensetzung of an alloy.
• Biology & Medicine: Die Zusammensetzung of cells, blood, or medications.
• Food: Die Zusammensetzung of a ready meal (list of ingredients).
• Social/Organizational: Die Zusammensetzung of a group, a team, a population.
• Technology: Die Zusammensetzung of a system or device.
• Linguistics: Wortzusammensetzung (word composition/compounding).

Comparison with similar words:

• Struktur (Structure): Emphasizes the arrangement and relationship of parts.
• Aufbau (Structure/Construction): Similar to Struktur, often used for physical objects or abstract concepts.
• Komposition (Composition): Often used in artistic (visual composition) or musical contexts, but can also mean chemical composition.
• Mixtur/Mischung (Mixture): Emphasizes the result of mixing substances.

While these words are similar, die Zusammensetzung often focuses on the specific components and their proportions or the way they are assembled.

🧠 Mnemonics for Zusammensetzung

For the Article (die): Nouns ending in -ung are almost always feminine in German (e.g., die Rechnung - the bill, die Übung - the exercise). Remember the -ung ending means you need die for Zusammensetzung!

For the Meaning: Think of the English phrase "setting something together". The process of "setting together" (zusammensetzen) results in the "composition" or "make-up" (die Zusammensetzung).

🔄 Synonyms & Antonyms

⚠️ Similar Words:

• Zusammenhang: Context, connection, correlation. Refers to the logical or causal link between things, not their physical/chemical composition. (E.g., Der Zusammenhang zwischen Ursache und Wirkung - The connection between cause and effect.)

😂 A Little Joke

German: Fragt der Chemielehrer: "Was ist die chemische Zusammensetzung von Wasser?" Schüler: "HIJKLMNO!" Lehrer: "Was soll das denn heißen?" Schüler: "Na, gestern sagten Sie doch H bis O (H₂O)!"

English Translation: The chemistry teacher asks: "What is the chemical composition of water?" Student: "HIJKLMNO!" Teacher: "What is that supposed to mean?" Student: "Well, yesterday you said H to O (H₂O)!"

✒️ Poem about Composition

German:
Aus vielen Teilen, klein und groß,
entsteht die Welt, ganz formenlos?
Nein, mit Bedacht und Plan und Sinn,
steckt die Zusammensetzung drin.

Im Stein, im Blatt, im Sternenlicht,
ein jedes Ding sein Muster flicht.
Die Art, wie alles sich vereint,
ist's, was als Zusammensetzung scheint.

English Translation:
From many parts, both small and grand,
Does the world arise, unplanned?
No, with thought and plan and sense,
Lies the composition thence.

In stone, in leaf, in starlight bright,
Each thing weaves its pattern right.
The way all elements unite,
Is what appears as composition's light.

❓ Little Riddle

German:
Ich beschreibe, was drin steckt,
sei's im Kuchen oder im Sekt.
Ich sag', wie Teile sich verbinden,
in Teams, Molekülen, man kann mich finden.
Mit "-ung" am End', feminin im Sinn,
sag mir schnell, wer ich bin!

English Translation:
I describe what's inside,
be it in cake or bubbly tide.
I tell how parts combine,
in teams, molecules, a structure define.
With an "-ung" at the end, feminine by convention,
Tell me quickly, what's my mention?

Solution: die Zusammensetzung

🧐 Other Information

Word Origin

The word "Zusammensetzung" is a noun derived from the verb zusammensetzen (to put together, assemble). It consists of:

• zusammen (prefix meaning 'together')
• setzen (verb meaning 'to set, put, place')
• -ung (suffix used to form nouns from verbs, usually feminine)

So, it literally describes the act of 'setting together' or the result thereof – how something is composed or put together.