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All German word comparisons · Back to the topic overview
Meaning, sentence patterns and examples
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meer | sea | water, coasts, figurative abundance | das Meer; die Meere |
| mehr | more; greater amount or degree | quantities, comparisons, nicht mehr | Normally invariable; comparative of viel in quantity uses |
Meer
Meaning and usage: Use Meer for the large body of water surrounding land or for a particular sea. Figuratively, ein Meer von can describe an abundance, such as a sea of lights. The noun still keeps its grammatical identity in the figurative expression.
Grammar: Neuter: das Meer, plural die Meere. Genitive des Meeres or des Meers. Location at the sea is am Meer; direction toward it can be ans Meer. Both are contractions of an plus an article with different cases.
Wir wohnen in einem Dorf am Meer.
We live in a village by the sea.
Vom Fenster aus sah sie ein Meer von Lichtern.
From the window she saw a sea of lights.
mehr
Meaning and usage: Use mehr when you want a greater quantity or degree. It can modify a noun or describe doing something to a greater extent. Nicht mehr usually means no longer or not anymore, rather than 'not a sea.'
Grammar: In its ordinary quantity and adverbial uses it stays unchanged: mehr Zeit, mehr Bücher, mehr arbeiten. Comparisons commonly use mehr als. Viel, mehr, am meisten form a useful comparison sequence for amount or degree.
Für die Aufgabe brauche ich mehr Zeit.
I need more time for the task.
Sie fährt nicht mehr jeden Tag zur Arbeit.
She no longer travels to work every day.
Overlap and context
The words have no shared literal meaning despite their identical standard pronunciation. In speech, a phrase such as am Meer supplies an article and location context; mehr Zeit supplies a quantity context. In writing, capitalization helps, but sentence-initial Mehr is also capitalized, so capitalization alone cannot always decide the answer.
Common mistakes
- Do not write mehr for the sea noun: das Meer.
- Do not add an adjective ending to ordinary mehr: mehr Bücher, not mehre Bücher.
- Translate nicht mehr by its time or quantity context; it often means no longer.
Memory aid: Meer has two e's and names a sea; mehr asks for a greater amount.
Try it
Fill both gaps: Am ___ möchte ich ___ Zeit verbringen.
Show the answer
Am Meer möchte ich mehr Zeit verbringen.
The first gap names the sea; the second expresses a larger amount of time. The whole sentence means 'I would like to spend more time by the sea.'