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Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 31, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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sonder

It's wrong in so many ways. "sonder" in German isn't a noun. It's not even a real word. It can't stand on its own! You combine it with various other word-components to make a real word.

Some examples:

  • absondern: excrete
  • besonders: special
  • sonderlich: strange
  • sondern: but
  • Besonderheit: peculiarity

And if for some absurd reason it were a noun of its own, you'd be obliged to capitalize it. And then it still wouldn't mean what, according to Google, it supposedly means in English!