adjective
strange, odd
B1
Meaning: 'strange' or 'odd'. Use: describes people or situations; gradable with comparative merkwürdiger and superlative am merkwürdigsten. It’s a regular adjective, no special prepositions, and can be used predicatively or attributively (with appropriate endings). Tone: can be mildly critical or curious.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.EXAMPLES
Obwohl das Verhalten merkwürdig war, erklärte der Direktor den Vorfall, weil Zeugen widersprüchliche Aussagen machten.
Although the behavior was strange, the director explained the incident because witnesses gave contradictory statements.
Sein Verhalten gestern war wirklich merkwürdig; er war sehr zurückgezogen.
His behaviour yesterday was really odd; he was very withdrawn.
Es ist merkwürdig, dass das Licht von selbst ausgegangen ist.
It's strange that the light went off by itself.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.DETAILS_LABEL
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.MNEMONICS
Picture a cat doing something unusual — that scene feels 'merkwürdig'.
Sounds like 'mere-voordig' — imagine something that makes you say 'hmm, that's odd'.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.NOTES
Merkwürdig often conveys surprise or slight unease; synonyms include seltsam and eigenartig.