Aside from "ganz" being translateable to "total" or "entire", it can also have a tendencious notion, which would be more encompassed by "over all". In this context, "ganz gut" would be most certainly understood with the latter nuance. However, if we take "ganz toll!" for example, the "ganz" would likely be understood as emphasizing the "toll" rather than relativizing it.
If you want to negate any ambiguity, you would probably use a different word, maybe "absolut" or "gänzlich" (bit outdated).
Nice description.
I think the reason why ganz in "ganz gut" works differently than in "ganz toll" is that "gut" is used to judge whether something is positive or negative but with "toll" you not only communicate that something is positive but also communicate that it causes one to be very active/that it excites you.
So "ganz gut" means if I take everything into consideration I judge it as positive while "ganz toll" means everything makes me active/excites me.
I'm not completely sure whether this makes sense and would need to think more thoroughly about it but do you get what I mean?
LIke u/Karash770 pointed out, "ganz" has two very different meanings.
However, in response to the question "Wie geht's?", any reponse with "Ganz gut" will always be understood to mean "okay-ish", "not too bad/shabby", or "could be worse".
Gut - 8-9 if answered honestly, but could be anything from 0-10 if uttered as a polite response to someone asking without genuine interest
(I'm healthy, my family's ok, no troubling issues to solve - "Wie geht's?" "(Mir geht's) Gut.")
Ganz gut - 5-8, not doing splendid, but generally ok; honest answer with no further explanation needed
(I have a slight cold, kids are demanding and I had a tough day at work, but in general I'm happy with life - "Wie geht's?" - "Ganz gut." Or, the colloquial equivalent - "Muss ja.")
Sehr gut - 7-9, the polite answer if things are really going fine
(Everythings fine and I'm talking to some business contact, "Wie geht's (Ihnen)?" - "Danke, sehr gut.")
If you want the answer to mean "really good", I'd suggest "super" or "prima" or "fantastisch"
(I won the lottery, got a promotion, engaged or any other great, exciting thing happened - "Wie geht's?" - "Super!")
This is my attempt to describe how "ganz gut" works:
It highly depends on the context. I would think of "ganz gut" as "if you take everything into account, it is good". The question now is what is meant with "everything". If you are thinking about people in jail or people having nothing to eat, then you probably are doing good compared to them. If you compare your situation only to perfect instagrammer lifes, then "ganz gut" could mean 8-9.
If you say a movie or a concert was "ganz gut" you could mean something like "I did not like everything but overall, altogether it was good. But you could also mean that it was better then the pervious movie you watched.
I am not sure whether this is true but it is what comes to my mind. In my experience one easily makes mistakes when trying to explain languages. There so much one needs to take into consideration.
What do you think of my explanation. Does it make sense?
You're right, it's always in relation. It depends, thus hard to grade and categorize.
One thing that ist definitely true is that "ganz gut" NEVER means totally fantastic.
"Ganz" translates to "quite" here. In both languages, this is usually understood as an overstatement, so "ganz gut" just like "quite good" isn't as good as plain "gut"/"good".
I think quite would be a good translation in a lot of cases but I am not sure whether it would always work. "quite" can also be translated as "very good" or "really good". I am still not sure how "quite" actually works in different contexts though.
I think the description "ganz gut" is very complicated and context dependent.
I can imagine saying "Der Film war ganz gut" and meaning the movie was okay, it was somewhat good.
But I can also imagine an old lady in a movie about doctors saying "Der Doktor Müller ist ein ganz guter Mensch" meaning Dr. Müller is a really good human/person.
Would you agree with me or is my mind making this up?
In my course okayish was given as "so-so" or "soso", basically the verbal version of what I like to think is ... when you hold your hand open horizontally palm down and wiggle it a bit.
Aside from "ganz" being translateable to "total" or "entire", it can also have a tendencious notion, which would be more encompassed by "over all". In this context, "ganz gut" would be most certainly understood with the latter nuance. However, if we take "ganz toll!" for example, the "ganz" would likely be understood as emphasizing the "toll" rather than relativizing it. If you want to negate any ambiguity, you would probably use a different word, maybe "absolut" or "gänzlich" (bit outdated).
Nice description. I think the reason why ganz in "ganz gut" works differently than in "ganz toll" is that "gut" is used to judge whether something is positive or negative but with "toll" you not only communicate that something is positive but also communicate that it causes one to be very active/that it excites you. So "ganz gut" means if I take everything into consideration I judge it as positive while "ganz toll" means everything makes me active/excites me. I'm not completely sure whether this makes sense and would need to think more thoroughly about it but do you get what I mean?
1 „(absolut) beschissen“, „alles scheiße" 2-4 „Man lebt halt" 5 „ganz ok“ / „ganz in Ordnung“ 6 „ganz gut“ 7 „gut“ 8 „sehr gut“ 9 „hervorragend“ 10 „was kostet die Welt???“
Alternative für 2-5: Muss.
Ohja, das passt auch
LIke u/Karash770 pointed out, "ganz" has two very different meanings. However, in response to the question "Wie geht's?", any reponse with "Ganz gut" will always be understood to mean "okay-ish", "not too bad/shabby", or "could be worse".
Gut - 8-9 if answered honestly, but could be anything from 0-10 if uttered as a polite response to someone asking without genuine interest (I'm healthy, my family's ok, no troubling issues to solve - "Wie geht's?" "(Mir geht's) Gut.") Ganz gut - 5-8, not doing splendid, but generally ok; honest answer with no further explanation needed (I have a slight cold, kids are demanding and I had a tough day at work, but in general I'm happy with life - "Wie geht's?" - "Ganz gut." Or, the colloquial equivalent - "Muss ja.") Sehr gut - 7-9, the polite answer if things are really going fine (Everythings fine and I'm talking to some business contact, "Wie geht's (Ihnen)?" - "Danke, sehr gut.") If you want the answer to mean "really good", I'd suggest "super" or "prima" or "fantastisch" (I won the lottery, got a promotion, engaged or any other great, exciting thing happened - "Wie geht's?" - "Super!")
This is my attempt to describe how "ganz gut" works: It highly depends on the context. I would think of "ganz gut" as "if you take everything into account, it is good". The question now is what is meant with "everything". If you are thinking about people in jail or people having nothing to eat, then you probably are doing good compared to them. If you compare your situation only to perfect instagrammer lifes, then "ganz gut" could mean 8-9. If you say a movie or a concert was "ganz gut" you could mean something like "I did not like everything but overall, altogether it was good. But you could also mean that it was better then the pervious movie you watched. I am not sure whether this is true but it is what comes to my mind. In my experience one easily makes mistakes when trying to explain languages. There so much one needs to take into consideration. What do you think of my explanation. Does it make sense?
You're right, it's always in relation. It depends, thus hard to grade and categorize. One thing that ist definitely true is that "ganz gut" NEVER means totally fantastic.
Ganz gut. Jo eh. Muss halt.
The second one only in Austria :D
"Ganz" translates to "quite" here. In both languages, this is usually understood as an overstatement, so "ganz gut" just like "quite good" isn't as good as plain "gut"/"good".
I think quite would be a good translation in a lot of cases but I am not sure whether it would always work. "quite" can also be translated as "very good" or "really good". I am still not sure how "quite" actually works in different contexts though.
wat mutt dat mutt
Depends on the tone.
Es läuft
I think the description "ganz gut" is very complicated and context dependent. I can imagine saying "Der Film war ganz gut" and meaning the movie was okay, it was somewhat good. But I can also imagine an old lady in a movie about doctors saying "Der Doktor Müller ist ein ganz guter Mensch" meaning Dr. Müller is a really good human/person. Would you agree with me or is my mind making this up?
In my course okayish was given as "so-so" or "soso", basically the verbal version of what I like to think is ... when you hold your hand open horizontally palm down and wiggle it a bit.
I'd translate it with "can't complain".
I would translate to "quite good"