adjective

ander

different · other

Beschreibt etwas oder jemanden, das oder der nicht wie das zuerst Genannte ist.

Definition & meaning

ander- means other, another, or different. It is normally used with an adjective ending:

ein anderer Mann — another man / a different man
eine andere Idee — another idea / a different idea
andere Menschen — other people
etwas anderes — something else

It can also mean else in expressions such as:

nichts anderes — nothing else
jemand anders — somebody else
woanders — somewhere else

The adverbial form is anders (), meaning differently or otherwise:

Das ist anders. — That is different.
Mach es anders. — Do it differently.

Grammar & Word origin

Ander- is an adjective stem and usually takes an ending according to gender, case, and number:

anderer () — masculine nominative
andere () — feminine nominative or plural
anderes () — neuter nominative or accusative
anderen () — several dative, accusative, or plural forms

It is related to English other and comes from an old Germanic word meaning “the second” or “the other one.”

The form ander without an ending is uncommon in modern standard German, except in certain fixed or poetic expressions. It is most often seen as the base of forms such as andere and anders.

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms

verschieden () — different; often emphasizes that two or more things are not alike.
sonstig () — other or remaining; commonly used for additional categories, as in sonstige Kosten (), “other costs.”
weiter () — another or additional in certain contexts, as in eine weitere Möglichkeit (), “another possibility.”
fremd () — foreign or unfamiliar, rather than simply “other.”

Antonyms

There is no single exact antonym in every context. Depending on the meaning, possible opposites are:

gleich () — the same or equal, contrasting with “different.”
derselbe () — the same one, contrasting with “another one.”
identisch () — identical, contrasting with “different.”

Common phrases & collocations

ein anderer () — another one / a different one
eine andere Meinung () — a different opinion
andere Leute () — other people
auf der anderen Seite () — on the other hand
zum anderen () — secondly / on the other hand
unter anderem () — among other things
nichts anderes als () — nothing other than
einander () — each other; historically formed from ein () plus ander ()