wohl

See also: Wohl and wóhl

German

Alternative forms

• woll (regional, colloquial; otherwise obsolete)
• wol (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle High German wol, wole, from Old High German wola (“well”), from Proto-Germanic *wela, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁-. Compare Dutch wel, English well, Danish vel, Swedish väl.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /voːl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oːl

Adverb

wohl

1. possibly, probably; as I was told (modal particle expressing an assumption, often like English must + infinitive, or (US) guess + clause)

   Er ist wohl schon gegangen. ― He must have left already. / I guess he has left already.

   Seine Frau ist wohl irgendeine bekannte Ärztin. ― [I heard that] his wife is some well-known doctor.

   Was das wohl zu bedeuten hat? ― What does that mean, though?

2. of course, indeed (modal particle adding stress to the statement to contradict a preceding one, often like English do + infinitive)

   Du warst ja noch nie in Frankreich. − Ich war wohl schon in Frankreich! ― "Since you've never been to France..." − "Of course I've been to France!"

   Ich kann's dir nicht sagen, weil ich's nicht weiß. − Du weißt es ja wohl! ― "I can't tell you because I don't know." − "But you do know!"

3. (regional, north-western Germany) actually, somehow, quite (modal particle making the statement weaker or expressing a concession)

   Was habt ihr denn alle mit der Suppe? Ich find die wohl nicht schlecht. ― "Why are you all complaining about the soup? I don't find it all that bad, actually."

4. (mostly elevated) well, very well

   Ihr habt wohl gesprochen, mein Herr! ― "Ye have spoken well, my lord!"

5. (regional in Austria, South Tyrol, in response to a negative question or statement) yes; surely; really; on the contrary

   Das stimmt nicht. — Wohl! ― That's not correct. — Yes, it is!

   Kommst du heute Abend nicht? — Wohl! ― Aren't you coming tonight?? — Yes, I am!

Usage notes

• The distinction between the strengthening particle (“of course”) and the weakening particle (“actually”) is through intonation. With the former wohl is strongly stressed, with the latter it is unstressed.
• The weakening particle is regional (as indicated above); more general words for this sense are schon or eigentlich.

Synonyms

• (possibly) vermutlich, scheint’s
• (well) gut
• (yes) doch, oja

Derived terms

• Wohl
• Wohlbefinden

Related terms

• jawohl
• Lebewohl
• sowohl
• unwohl
• wohlfühlen

Further reading

• “wohl” in Duden online
• “wohl” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache