Vocabulary
die
Pointe
/ˈpo̯ɛ̃ːtə/· noun· Pl. die Pointen
punchline; the point (of a joke or story)
The twist at the end of a joke, a Glosse or an anecdote — the line everything has been leading up to.
CEFR C1Frequency ●●●●●
Your memory
New
Learning
Familiar
Strong
Mastered
Forms
- Singular
- die Pointe
- Plural
- die Pointen
- Genitiv
- der Pointe
One word, many lives
Tap a meaning. Real German isn't a dictionary translation.
Pointe
punchline
Die Pointe kam so trocken, dass zuerst niemand lachte.
The punchline was so dry that nobody laughed at first.
Word family
Pointepointiertpointed, sharply phraseddie Schlusspointefinal punchlinepointenreichfull of punchlines
Common combinations
- die Pointe verratento give away the punchline
- die Pointe sitztthe punchline lands
- auf eine Pointe hinarbeitento build up to a punchline
Common learner mistakes
- Meine Pointe ist, dass der Text zu lang ist.Mir geht es darum, dass der Text zu lang ist.die Pointe is a punchline, not 'my point' in an argument. And it is said the French way: [ˈpo̯ɛ̃ːtə].
Real examples
- Verrate bitte nicht die Pointe!Please don't give away the punchline!
- Die Pointe steht am Ende, wo der Satz den stärksten Ton hat.The punchline comes at the end, where the sentence carries the strongest stress.
- Ohne den letzten Absatz fehlt der Glosse die Pointe.Without the last paragraph the satirical piece has no punchline.
