German word of the day: Zugzwang
Use this word if you find yourself in a tight spot.
Why do I need to know Zugzwang?
Because you'll hear this word in many situations where a tricky decision has to be made, including in sports and current affairs (and who doesn't want to join in political debates in German?)
What does it mean?
Der Zugzwang, which sounds like this and means "compulsion to move", is said to come from chess terminology. It describes the situation in a game where players take alternating turns, and one player is forced to make a move that will leave them at a disadvantage.
Der Zug means train in German, but this word doesn’t have anything to do with trains. The word Zug actually has multiple uses in German and, in this particular case, it means “move”. The English translation of the word Zwang, meanwhile is "force" or "compulsion, and comes from the verb zwingen meaning "to force".
The earliest known use of the word was in 1858 when it appeared in the Berliner Schachzeitung - the Berlin chess newspaper. The invention of the word is attributed to the famous German chess player Max Lange.
In everyday language, the term Zugzwang is used to describe a situation in which someone is forced to take a particular action or, more generally, to respond to a challenge.
Similar to the German word Zeitgeist, the word Zugzwang is widely used in other languages too, perhaps because it so concisely describes a complex situation in the wonderful way that only German can. It also sounds nice too.
Use it like this:
Wir wollen uns nicht selber unter Zugzwang setzen.
We don't want to put ourselves under pressure to make a move.
Viele Firmen stehen jetzt unter Zugzwang.
Many companies are now in a tight spot.
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Why do I need to know Zugzwang?
Because you'll hear this word in many situations where a tricky decision has to be made, including in sports and current affairs (and who doesn't want to join in political debates in German?)
What does it mean?
Der Zugzwang, which sounds like this and means "compulsion to move", is said to come from chess terminology. It describes the situation in a game where players take alternating turns, and one player is forced to make a move that will leave them at a disadvantage.
Der Zug means train in German, but this word doesn’t have anything to do with trains. The word Zug actually has multiple uses in German and, in this particular case, it means “move”. The English translation of the word Zwang, meanwhile is "force" or "compulsion, and comes from the verb zwingen meaning "to force".
The earliest known use of the word was in 1858 when it appeared in the Berliner Schachzeitung - the Berlin chess newspaper. The invention of the word is attributed to the famous German chess player Max Lange.
In everyday language, the term Zugzwang is used to describe a situation in which someone is forced to take a particular action or, more generally, to respond to a challenge.
Similar to the German word Zeitgeist, the word Zugzwang is widely used in other languages too, perhaps because it so concisely describes a complex situation in the wonderful way that only German can. It also sounds nice too.
Use it like this:
Wir wollen uns nicht selber unter Zugzwang setzen.
We don't want to put ourselves under pressure to make a move.
Viele Firmen stehen jetzt unter Zugzwang.
Many companies are now in a tight spot.
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