gemein

mean; nasty; common (shared).

English translations

  1. 01

    vulgar

  2. 02

    mean

  3. 03

    common

Word details

German meaning
Unfreundlich, boshaft, niederträchtig.
English meaning
Mean
Synonym
niederträchtig, boshaft
German example
Es war gemein von ihm, so etwas zu sagen.
English example
It was mean of him to say something like that.
Comparative
gemeinerSuperlative: am gemeinsten

Example sentences with “gemein”

  1. Das war sehr gemein von dir. (That was very mean of you.)

Frequently asked questions

How do you distinguish the meanings?

Context: 'gemein' as 'mean' is common in speech; 'gemein' as 'common/shared' is often found in compounds (e.g., 'Gemeinschaft').