die Treppe | die Treppen

Language Corner
1
dict.cc lists

die Treppe | die Treppen

what do people use in daily usage for a flight of stairs - is it a die Treppe or a die Treppen?

and if the latter, is a die Treppe one step of a flight?

thx

2
I'm not sure, I only take the steige.

"die treppe" (I think) refers to more than one steps on top of each other, so a flight of stairs would be "die treppe". "die treppen", on the other hand, would refer to more than one flight of stairs.

cue the linguists.

3
Absolute beginner here, but my understanding is that "die Treppe" means "a staircase".

ETA: wot crazygringo said.

4
ok thanks, i was somehow mentally equating a treppe with one step, and treppen with steps (as in a staircase)

but a treppe is a staircase and treppen is staircases

5
Die Treppe is a single staircase apparently (just going straight up). If the stairs change direction (stairs, a flat section, then more stairs at 90 or 180 degrees) then that is die Treppen.

6
Are you sure you don't take the St ie ge?

Treppe/Treppen is originally the same word, a feminine -n class noun. It means that it used to get an -n at all cases but Nominative singular, exactly like the weak Maskulina in modern German (Junge/Jungen) and the Neutrum word Herz. Some time between Luther and Goethe, those -n only were lost in the singular declension and kept only in the plural form, hence reinterpreted as a pure Plural ending. This is how the form with -n became a plural in daily use and the form without -n is a singular. But it is just the result of a simplification of the declension of the -n class feminine nouns.

7
"Schtaegge" When I talk to faltrad I use Treppe . Stiege Steige is Austrian ,Whae :-((

8
I hate when I forget my protractor.

What is a single step? (Besides the start to a long journey)

And how would you translate "halfway down the stairs is the stair where I sit"?

9
a single step = eine Stufe, eine Treppenstufe

(Swiss German/Bernese: ä Tritt, ä Schtägetritt)

"Die Treppe" can be anything - stairs, one flight of stairs, a staircase. But if there is a series of stairs and you want to be precise you could say:

"Es gab mehrere Treppen."

..... stairs in film "Name of the Rose"

"Ich sitze auf einer Stufe in der Mitte der Treppe." but you would probably simply say "Ich sitze etwa in der Mitte der Treppe."

..... Barcelona stairs

10
cannut is right, I meant "schtägä", but I figured that would be even less helpful than what I wrote. cannut is also right on "steige", which I blame on the fact that most of my Swiss German was learned from a colleague whose parents came to Switzerland from Austria.

completely unrelated to the OP, but what then should I call the hallway where a single set of stairs is located? is it still a "treppenhaus"?

this is a serious question, btw, I am curious.

11
"Die Eingangshalle" or simply "die Halle"

"Sie warteten in der Eingangshalle."

.... such as these...

12
And how would you translate "halfway down the stairs is the stair where I sit"?[/QUOTE]

How's this for butchering A. A. Milne:

Auf halbem Weg die Treppe hinunter ist ein Treppen wo ich sitze

13
.... people would understand what you mean but it's "Google-German".

in context..... such as "one tiny mouse sitting somwhere on a step giving instructions via mobile phone to another tiny mouse: "Wenn du die Treppe hinunter kommst, triffst du etwa auf halbem Weg auf mich. Ich sitze dort links auf einer Stufe."