sondern
German, conjunction[ˈzɔndɐn]
sondern is spelled S-O-N-D-E-R-N (7 letters) and appears 589 times per million words in written German, the 158th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Sondern is a German conjunction meaning “rather, but (instead)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “den Gegensatz nach einem negierten Satzteil einleitend”.
What does sondern mean in English?
conjunction
- 1
rather, but (instead).
interjection
- 1
so?, then what?, so you tell me!
Naja, ganz so ist es ja auch nicht! – Sondern?
verb
- 1
to separate, to sunder
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. trennen
conjunction: 1. den Gegensatz nach einem negierten Satzteil einleitend
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of sondern
- sondert present singular third-person
- sonderte past
- gesondert participle past
- haben auxiliary
- sondernd participle present
- sondre first-person indicative present
- sondere first-person indicative present
- sonder first-person indicative present
- sonderst indicative present second-person
- sonderest second-person singular subjunctive
- sondrest second-person singular subjunctive
- sonderet plural second-person subjunctive
- sondret plural second-person subjunctive
- sonderten first-person indicative plural
- sondertest indicative preterite second-person
- sondertet indicative plural preterite
- sondere! imperative singular
- sondert! imperative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce sondern?
- [ˈzɔndɐn]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to sondern
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is sondern in German?
sondern appears 589 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).