German · B1 · Everyday language
Neither One Today in German
Use weder ... noch (‘neither ... nor’) to gently rule out two possible needs, choices or causes of discomfort during everyday baby care.
What you'll learn
- Use weder ... noch to exclude two things without adding nicht.
- Link adjectives, nouns and activities in everyday sentences.
- Recognize how paired subjects affect verb agreement.
German phrases for neither one today
Du scheinst gerade weder hungrig noch müde zu sein.
You seem neither hungry nor tired right now.
Scheinen ... zu sein means ‘to seem to be’. Weder ... noch links the two adjectives hungrig and müde.
Dein Badewasser ist weder zu heiß noch zu kalt.
Your bath water is neither too hot nor too cold.
Zu before an adjective means ‘too’. Repeat it because both extremes are being ruled out.
Weder dein Fläschchen noch dein Schnuller sind in der Wickeltasche.
Neither your bottle nor your dummy is in the changing bag.
Fläschchen is commonly used for a baby's bottle. Schnuller means ‘dummy’ or ‘pacifier’.
Heute möchtest du weder Brei noch zerdrückte Banane.
Today you want neither porridge nor mashed banana.
Möchtest expresses ‘want’ gently. Brei is a general word for soft baby food or porridge; Haferbrei specifically means oat porridge.
Weder Singen noch Wiegen hilft dir, zur Ruhe zu kommen.
Neither singing nor rocking is helping you settle.
Singen and Wiegen are activities used as nouns, so they take capital letters. Zur Ruhe kommen means ‘to settle’ or ‘to calm down’.
Dieser Schlafanzug ist weder eng noch unbequem.
This sleepsuit is neither tight nor uncomfortable.
Eng means ‘tight’ when describing clothing. Unbequem means ‘uncomfortable’; keep un- because it is part of the adjective.
Weder Mama noch Papa weiß, wo deine kleine Socke geblieben ist.
Neither Mum nor Dad knows where your little sock has gone.
Wo ... geblieben ist is a natural way to ask where something has gone. In this embedded question, ist comes at the end.
Während deines Nickerchens brauchen wir weder helles Licht noch laute Musik.
During your nap, we need neither bright lights nor loud music.
Während deines Nickerchens means ‘during your nap’. Helles Licht naturally describes bright lighting in general.
Hear these phrases and practise them
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Try it free for 7 daysKey words
gerade
right now
Useful when describing how your baby seems at this moment.
das Badewasser
bath water
A compound noun made from Bade- and Wasser.
das Fläschchen
baby bottle; little bottle
The ending -chen makes a diminutive. All nouns ending in -chen are neuter.
der Schnuller
dummy; pacifier
The usual everyday word for a baby's dummy.
die Wickeltasche
changing bag; diaper bag
In der Wickeltasche describes a location and uses the dative case.
zerdrückte Banane
mashed banana
Zerdrücken means to crush or mash, for example with a fork.
das Wiegen
rocking
Here it means gently rocking a baby, not checking the baby's weight.
der Schlafanzug
sleepsuit; pyjamas
A general word for sleepwear, including a baby's sleepsuit.
das Nickerchen
nap
Ein Nickerchen machen means ‘to have a nap’.
Weder ... noch: two things ruled out
Put weder before the first excluded item and noch before the second. The pair already expresses negation, so do not add nicht or kein to negate those same items.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Two adjectives | weder + adjective + noch + adjective | Du bist weder hungrig noch müde. |
| Two adjective phrases | weder + zu + adjective + noch + zu + adjective | Das Wasser ist weder zu heiß noch zu kalt. |
| Two nouns | weder + noun phrase + noch + noun phrase | Du möchtest weder Brei noch Banane. |
Keep the usual sentence structure
Weder ... noch does not send the verb to the end. In a main clause, the conjugated verb stays in second position. An opening time expression counts as the first sentence element; a complete paired subject also counts as one element.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject first | subject + verb + weder A noch B | Dieser Schlafanzug ist weder eng noch unbequem. |
| Time expression first | time expression + verb + subject + weder A noch B | Heute möchtest du weder Brei noch Banane. |
| Paired subject first | weder A noch B + verb + rest | Weder Mama noch Papa weiß die Antwort. |
Verb agreement with paired subjects
With two singular subjects linked by weder ... noch, both singular and plural verb forms are possible. Singular treats each item separately; plural treats them as a pair. The source translations show both patterns.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Singular agreement | two singular subjects + singular verb | Weder Mama noch Papa weiß, wo die Socke ist. |
| Plural agreement | two singular subjects + plural verb | Weder dein Fläschchen noch dein Schnuller sind in der Wickeltasche. |
More examples
Deine Hände sind weder heiß noch kalt.
Your hands are neither hot nor cold.
Weder ... noch links two adjectives describing the same subject.
Wir brauchen weder die Decke noch das Kissen.
We need neither the blanket nor the cushion.
Keep each noun's article inside its part of the pair.
Heute hilft weder Singen noch Wiegen.
Today neither singing nor rocking helps.
Heute comes first, so hilft follows immediately. The paired subject comes after the verb.