What does “das Unfassbare” mean in German?

Wang Lipings einsamer Olympiasieg in Sydney 2000

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B1 German listening practice · German · Picked for people who know some

💡 Did you know?
das Unfassbare
when something is too big to take in
“the unbelievable thing” — something so shocking you can barely wrap your head around it.

The clip reaches its turning point: “Dann geschah das Unfassbare” — then the unbelievable thing happened. “Unfassbar” means something is so big or shocking you cannot quite take it in. Adding “das” and a capital letter turns it into a noun: the unbelievable thing. It names the event — the leader gets a red card, Wang Liping wins out of nowhere — rather than just calling it surprising.

In the clip: “Dann geschah das Unfassbare.” (Then the unbelievable thing happened.) “Unfassbar” on its own means something is so big or shocking you can hardly take it in — too much to grasp. With “das” and a capital U, it becomes a noun: “the unbelievable thing,” naming the event itself. You will also hear “Unfassbar!” on its own as a strong reaction — roughly “I can’t believe it!” or “Incredible!” — when words almost fail.

How common are the words?

How common are the words in this B1 German listening practice video?

90.1%
of words are in the top 2,000 most common German words
Most of the words in this video are common German words.

How common in written German

80.9%
Top 1,000
90.1%
Top 2,000
93.2%
Top 5,000

How common in spoken German

86%
Top 1,000
97.8%
Top 2,000
100%
Top 5,000
👄 Words for talking
This video uses words people often say in German.

Harder words in this video

These words are harder than B1. Here is what they mean.

favoritin
2×
Not in top 5,000
(female) favorite, favourite
liping
2×
Not in top 5,000
(proper noun or place name)
nationalflagge
2×
Not in top 5,000
national flag
teamkollegin
2×
Not in top 5,000
team colleague (female)
ziellinie
2×
Not in top 5,000
finish line

Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-DE 2011 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.

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