als vs. wenn
als बनाम wenn
Hindi's 'जब' covers every past, present, and future occasion, just like English 'when' — but German splits this single word into als (one specific past event) and wenn (everything else) — a distinction that trips up learners at every level, not just beginners.
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
als: a single event in the past
Als ich fünf war, zog meine Familie nach Berlin.
जब मैं पाँच साल का था, मेरा परिवार बर्लिन चला गया।
als is reserved for a single, one-time event that already happened — a specific past moment or period, never repeated. Hindi's 'जब' does this job too, but also covers the two categories below, so Hindi speakers may habitually reach for wenn since it feels closer to 'जब'/'when'. This instinct is exactly backwards for one-time past events: here als is correct, not wenn.
wenn: repeated or habitual events, in any time frame
Wenn ich früher zur Schule ging, sah ich oft meine Freunde.
जब भी मैं स्कूल जाता था, अक्सर अपने दोस्तों को देखता था।
wenn covers repeated or habitual past events — situations that fit better with Hindi's 'जब भी' than plain 'जब' — which gives a useful test: if you can insert 'भी' without changing the meaning, use wenn, not als. (Als ich fünf war describes a single, non-repeated period of being five, so 'जब भी' would sound odd there — a good check in the other direction too.)
wenn: every present and future 'when' or 'if' too
Wenn ich Zeit habe, rufe ich dich an.
जब/अगर मेरे पास समय होगा, मैं तुम्हें फ़ोन करूँगा।
For anything in the present or future, wenn is always correct — als can never be used outside the past. wenn also covers the conditional 'if', which Hindi and English both treat as a completely separate word ('अगर' vs. 'जब'). German doesn't grammatically distinguish "when I have time" from "if I have time" — both are wenn, and context settles the difference.
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
| German | Pronunciation | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| als (einmalig, Vergangenheit) | ahls | जब (एक बार, भूतकाल)jab (ek bār, bhūtkāl) | when (one-time, past) |
| wenn (wiederholt / Gegenwart / Zukunft) | ven | जब भी / अगरjab bhī / agar | when(ever) / if |
| als ich klein war | ahls ikh kline vahr | जब मैं छोटा थाjab maiñ choṭā thā | when I was little |
| als wir uns kennenlernten | ahls veer oons KEN-en-lairn-ten | जब हम एक-दूसरे से मिलेjab ham ek-dūsre se mile | when we met (each other) |
| wenn es regnet | ven es RAYG-net | जब/अगर बारिश होjab/agar bāriś ho | when/if it rains |
| immer wenn | IM-er ven | जब भीjab bhī | every time (that) |
| damals | DAH-mahls | उस समय / तबus samay / tab | back then / at that time |
| jedes Mal, wenn | YAY-des mahl, ven | हर बार जबhar bār jab | every time that |