All German word comparisons · Back to the topic overview
Meaning, sentence patterns and examples
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| noch | still; yet; additional | Continuation, a pending change or more of something | Adverb/particle; no inflection or required case complement. The nearby noun follows its own grammar. For the time meaning use noch nicht as a unit for not yet; noch mehr means more, and noch einmal means again. |
| schon | already; as early as, among other uses | A reached state or earlier-than-expected timing | Adverb/particle; no inflection. With a main clause it can appear in the middle: Ich bin schon fertig. At the beginning of a time phrase, it can emphasize early timing: schon am Morgen. |
noch
Meaning and usage: Noch can keep a state going: Ich lerne noch. With nicht, it says a change has not occurred yet: Ich bin noch nicht fertig. It also adds something, as in noch ein Kaffee, or intensifies a comparative, as in noch besser. These uses cannot all be translated as still. The time interpretation depends on what continues or has not happened.
Grammar: Adverb/particle; no inflection or required case complement. The nearby noun follows its own grammar. For the time meaning use noch nicht as a unit for not yet; noch mehr means more, and noch einmal means again.
Sie schläft noch.
She is still sleeping.
Ich habe die Aufgabe noch nicht beendet.
I have not finished the task yet.
Ich möchte noch einen Kaffee.
I would like another coffee.
schon
Meaning and usage: Schon says that an event or state has been reached. It may highlight surprise at how early or quickly this happened, but that surprise need not be strong in every sentence. In conversational phrases such as Das wird schon, it reassures rather than giving a simple time report. Learn those as contextual expressions.
Grammar: Adverb/particle; no inflection. With a main clause it can appear in the middle: Ich bin schon fertig. At the beginning of a time phrase, it can emphasize early timing: schon am Morgen.
Ich bin schon fertig.
I am already finished.
Sie hat schon am Morgen geantwortet.
She replied as early as the morning.
Das wird schon.
It will work out.
Overlap and context
Think of a task: Ich arbeite noch means work continues; Ich bin noch nicht fertig means completion is pending; Ich bin schon fertig means completion has happened; Ich arbeite nicht mehr means work has stopped. The last sentence does not prove the task is finished: you may have taken a break. Expectations matter, but no fixed clock time belongs to either word.
Common mistakes
- Not yet is noch nicht; do not automatically translate it with schon nicht.
- No longer is nicht mehr, not noch nicht.
- Do not translate noch einen Kaffee as still a coffee; it asks for another one.
Memory aid: Noch holds the door open for a continuing or pending state. Schon says the relevant threshold has been crossed. Add noch nicht and nicht mehr to your timeline so the negatives stay distinct.
Try it
Complete for not yet: Ich habe ___ ___ bezahlt.
Show the answer
noch nicht
Payment has not happened up to this point; noch nicht expresses the pending action.