# German translation and the word ''pumpernickel''

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-translation-and-the-word-pumpernickel/203746>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 25, 2003, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-translation-and-the-word-pumpernickel/203746 "2003-09-25T14:15:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-translation-and-the-word-pumpernickel/203746/1 "2003-09-25T14:15:23Z")

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OK, a while back there was [a column](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mpumpernickel.html)on this, but this is not really a comment on the column.

I only had one year of German, and that was many, many years ago, but I thought that adjectives _preceded_ the noun, which would make the translation (assuming the component etymologies are correct) more like “farting devil” as opposed to “devil’s fart.”

Can they go either way in German?

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**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-translation-and-the-word-pumpernickel/203746/2 "2003-09-25T14:50:22Z")

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You’re right; adjectives practically always precede the noun in German(I cannot think of a reasonable exception at the moment, but never say never, so probably there _are_ exceptions to the rule).

OTOH, I guess “pumpernickel” isn’t adjective + noun, it’s a compound word; in those, the first word will modify the second one (very much like “classroom” in English: A classroom is a room, for a class, so “class” modifies “room”). Compound words are very common in German, I guess they make up a huge portion of the vocabulary.

Anyway, adjective + noun or compound both boil down to the same thing: It ought to be “farting devil,” not vice versa.