Can “Gewehr” and “Waffe” be used interchangeably?












2















It seems that "Gewehr" can mean gun, but also specifically rifles. Can "Gewehr" be used more generally to mean all guns, or does it only mean rifles specifically?










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  • 2





    "Waffe" means "weapon" and that doesn't have to be something that can shoot.

    – Rudy Velthuis
    7 hours ago











  • No. Gewehr is rifle, a special case of a weapon you can fire, which in turn is a special case of Waffe (any weapon).

    – Robert
    6 hours ago
















2















It seems that "Gewehr" can mean gun, but also specifically rifles. Can "Gewehr" be used more generally to mean all guns, or does it only mean rifles specifically?










share|improve this question







New contributor




kevin_ten11 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
















  • 2





    "Waffe" means "weapon" and that doesn't have to be something that can shoot.

    – Rudy Velthuis
    7 hours ago











  • No. Gewehr is rifle, a special case of a weapon you can fire, which in turn is a special case of Waffe (any weapon).

    – Robert
    6 hours ago














2












2








2








It seems that "Gewehr" can mean gun, but also specifically rifles. Can "Gewehr" be used more generally to mean all guns, or does it only mean rifles specifically?










share|improve this question







New contributor




kevin_ten11 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.












It seems that "Gewehr" can mean gun, but also specifically rifles. Can "Gewehr" be used more generally to mean all guns, or does it only mean rifles specifically?







meaning






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Check out our Code of Conduct.











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Check out our Code of Conduct.









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asked 7 hours ago









kevin_ten11kevin_ten11

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Check out our Code of Conduct.








  • 2





    "Waffe" means "weapon" and that doesn't have to be something that can shoot.

    – Rudy Velthuis
    7 hours ago











  • No. Gewehr is rifle, a special case of a weapon you can fire, which in turn is a special case of Waffe (any weapon).

    – Robert
    6 hours ago














  • 2





    "Waffe" means "weapon" and that doesn't have to be something that can shoot.

    – Rudy Velthuis
    7 hours ago











  • No. Gewehr is rifle, a special case of a weapon you can fire, which in turn is a special case of Waffe (any weapon).

    – Robert
    6 hours ago








2




2





"Waffe" means "weapon" and that doesn't have to be something that can shoot.

– Rudy Velthuis
7 hours ago





"Waffe" means "weapon" and that doesn't have to be something that can shoot.

– Rudy Velthuis
7 hours ago













No. Gewehr is rifle, a special case of a weapon you can fire, which in turn is a special case of Waffe (any weapon).

– Robert
6 hours ago





No. Gewehr is rifle, a special case of a weapon you can fire, which in turn is a special case of Waffe (any weapon).

– Robert
6 hours ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















5














Gewehr typically denotes any gun that has a long barrel (as opposed to a pistol).



And no, it is not the generic term for gun, that would be Schusswaffe.






share|improve this answer



















  • 1





    Add to that, "Waffe" would be akin to weapon, with the regular p>f correspondence

    – vectory
    7 hours ago






  • 1





    Since Wehr only means defense, there must be a particular language historic reason. Imaginably, pistols were an innovation taken from Italian, contrasting with the long builds. A Pistol is generically called "Handfeuerwaffe". In the same way, a "Schusswaffe" should, but practically doesn't denote an archers bow. In contrast to a bow, guns involve gun-fire, but we do not say "Feuerwaffe", though the term does seem to exist, to my surprise.

    – vectory
    7 hours ago








  • 1





    @vectory Why do you say a bow isn't a Schusswaffe? If you asked me to name one, I'd probably name a type of gun first, but if you asked me what type of weapon a bow was, I'd definitely say Schusswaffe. The crossbow is another such case.

    – Philipp
    6 hours ago











  • @Phillip, it's not even a weapon, nowadays, but a "Sportgerät" or a historical artifact.

    – vectory
    4 hours ago











  • @vectory Sorry, you're thinking of Bundeswehr or Feuerwehr, but the historic term is, rather specifically, a long knive with one sharp edge, the defence weapon of a free man, but not a nobleman or for war. And "Feuerwaffe" separates the gun from the crossbow, both of which are "Schusswaffen". Also in modern legal terms, where the latter are qualified by the ability to be kept charged without effort, and released by a trigger. A bow is not per se regarded as a weapon, but only if actually used as such.

    – Karl
    3 hours ago



















6














Waffe = weapon



This can be a gun, a bomb, a missile, and many other things that are made to hurt or kill people.
Depending on the context a Waffe also can be anything that can be used to hurt or kill people, independent for what it was made. So also a screwdriver, a baseball bat or a box cutter can be weapons.





Gewehr = riffle, long gun



A Gewehr is any gun with a long barrel, i.e. something to shoot bullets, but not a pistol.





Schusswaffe = gun



Schusswaffe (literal: shoot-weapon) is the German word for any weapons that can be used to shoot bullets.






share|improve this answer


























  • German language (and law) makes a clear distiction between a weapon, made for the purpose (a gun, a spring knive, a crossbow), and sth. that is just used as one in a given case (screwdriver, axe, bow and arrow ,..).

    – Karl
    3 hours ago













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2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









5














Gewehr typically denotes any gun that has a long barrel (as opposed to a pistol).



And no, it is not the generic term for gun, that would be Schusswaffe.






share|improve this answer



















  • 1





    Add to that, "Waffe" would be akin to weapon, with the regular p>f correspondence

    – vectory
    7 hours ago






  • 1





    Since Wehr only means defense, there must be a particular language historic reason. Imaginably, pistols were an innovation taken from Italian, contrasting with the long builds. A Pistol is generically called "Handfeuerwaffe". In the same way, a "Schusswaffe" should, but practically doesn't denote an archers bow. In contrast to a bow, guns involve gun-fire, but we do not say "Feuerwaffe", though the term does seem to exist, to my surprise.

    – vectory
    7 hours ago








  • 1





    @vectory Why do you say a bow isn't a Schusswaffe? If you asked me to name one, I'd probably name a type of gun first, but if you asked me what type of weapon a bow was, I'd definitely say Schusswaffe. The crossbow is another such case.

    – Philipp
    6 hours ago











  • @Phillip, it's not even a weapon, nowadays, but a "Sportgerät" or a historical artifact.

    – vectory
    4 hours ago











  • @vectory Sorry, you're thinking of Bundeswehr or Feuerwehr, but the historic term is, rather specifically, a long knive with one sharp edge, the defence weapon of a free man, but not a nobleman or for war. And "Feuerwaffe" separates the gun from the crossbow, both of which are "Schusswaffen". Also in modern legal terms, where the latter are qualified by the ability to be kept charged without effort, and released by a trigger. A bow is not per se regarded as a weapon, but only if actually used as such.

    – Karl
    3 hours ago
















5














Gewehr typically denotes any gun that has a long barrel (as opposed to a pistol).



And no, it is not the generic term for gun, that would be Schusswaffe.






share|improve this answer



















  • 1





    Add to that, "Waffe" would be akin to weapon, with the regular p>f correspondence

    – vectory
    7 hours ago






  • 1





    Since Wehr only means defense, there must be a particular language historic reason. Imaginably, pistols were an innovation taken from Italian, contrasting with the long builds. A Pistol is generically called "Handfeuerwaffe". In the same way, a "Schusswaffe" should, but practically doesn't denote an archers bow. In contrast to a bow, guns involve gun-fire, but we do not say "Feuerwaffe", though the term does seem to exist, to my surprise.

    – vectory
    7 hours ago








  • 1





    @vectory Why do you say a bow isn't a Schusswaffe? If you asked me to name one, I'd probably name a type of gun first, but if you asked me what type of weapon a bow was, I'd definitely say Schusswaffe. The crossbow is another such case.

    – Philipp
    6 hours ago











  • @Phillip, it's not even a weapon, nowadays, but a "Sportgerät" or a historical artifact.

    – vectory
    4 hours ago











  • @vectory Sorry, you're thinking of Bundeswehr or Feuerwehr, but the historic term is, rather specifically, a long knive with one sharp edge, the defence weapon of a free man, but not a nobleman or for war. And "Feuerwaffe" separates the gun from the crossbow, both of which are "Schusswaffen". Also in modern legal terms, where the latter are qualified by the ability to be kept charged without effort, and released by a trigger. A bow is not per se regarded as a weapon, but only if actually used as such.

    – Karl
    3 hours ago














5












5








5







Gewehr typically denotes any gun that has a long barrel (as opposed to a pistol).



And no, it is not the generic term for gun, that would be Schusswaffe.






share|improve this answer













Gewehr typically denotes any gun that has a long barrel (as opposed to a pistol).



And no, it is not the generic term for gun, that would be Schusswaffe.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 7 hours ago









tofrotofro

42.3k140128




42.3k140128








  • 1





    Add to that, "Waffe" would be akin to weapon, with the regular p>f correspondence

    – vectory
    7 hours ago






  • 1





    Since Wehr only means defense, there must be a particular language historic reason. Imaginably, pistols were an innovation taken from Italian, contrasting with the long builds. A Pistol is generically called "Handfeuerwaffe". In the same way, a "Schusswaffe" should, but practically doesn't denote an archers bow. In contrast to a bow, guns involve gun-fire, but we do not say "Feuerwaffe", though the term does seem to exist, to my surprise.

    – vectory
    7 hours ago








  • 1





    @vectory Why do you say a bow isn't a Schusswaffe? If you asked me to name one, I'd probably name a type of gun first, but if you asked me what type of weapon a bow was, I'd definitely say Schusswaffe. The crossbow is another such case.

    – Philipp
    6 hours ago











  • @Phillip, it's not even a weapon, nowadays, but a "Sportgerät" or a historical artifact.

    – vectory
    4 hours ago











  • @vectory Sorry, you're thinking of Bundeswehr or Feuerwehr, but the historic term is, rather specifically, a long knive with one sharp edge, the defence weapon of a free man, but not a nobleman or for war. And "Feuerwaffe" separates the gun from the crossbow, both of which are "Schusswaffen". Also in modern legal terms, where the latter are qualified by the ability to be kept charged without effort, and released by a trigger. A bow is not per se regarded as a weapon, but only if actually used as such.

    – Karl
    3 hours ago














  • 1





    Add to that, "Waffe" would be akin to weapon, with the regular p>f correspondence

    – vectory
    7 hours ago






  • 1





    Since Wehr only means defense, there must be a particular language historic reason. Imaginably, pistols were an innovation taken from Italian, contrasting with the long builds. A Pistol is generically called "Handfeuerwaffe". In the same way, a "Schusswaffe" should, but practically doesn't denote an archers bow. In contrast to a bow, guns involve gun-fire, but we do not say "Feuerwaffe", though the term does seem to exist, to my surprise.

    – vectory
    7 hours ago








  • 1





    @vectory Why do you say a bow isn't a Schusswaffe? If you asked me to name one, I'd probably name a type of gun first, but if you asked me what type of weapon a bow was, I'd definitely say Schusswaffe. The crossbow is another such case.

    – Philipp
    6 hours ago











  • @Phillip, it's not even a weapon, nowadays, but a "Sportgerät" or a historical artifact.

    – vectory
    4 hours ago











  • @vectory Sorry, you're thinking of Bundeswehr or Feuerwehr, but the historic term is, rather specifically, a long knive with one sharp edge, the defence weapon of a free man, but not a nobleman or for war. And "Feuerwaffe" separates the gun from the crossbow, both of which are "Schusswaffen". Also in modern legal terms, where the latter are qualified by the ability to be kept charged without effort, and released by a trigger. A bow is not per se regarded as a weapon, but only if actually used as such.

    – Karl
    3 hours ago








1




1





Add to that, "Waffe" would be akin to weapon, with the regular p>f correspondence

– vectory
7 hours ago





Add to that, "Waffe" would be akin to weapon, with the regular p>f correspondence

– vectory
7 hours ago




1




1





Since Wehr only means defense, there must be a particular language historic reason. Imaginably, pistols were an innovation taken from Italian, contrasting with the long builds. A Pistol is generically called "Handfeuerwaffe". In the same way, a "Schusswaffe" should, but practically doesn't denote an archers bow. In contrast to a bow, guns involve gun-fire, but we do not say "Feuerwaffe", though the term does seem to exist, to my surprise.

– vectory
7 hours ago







Since Wehr only means defense, there must be a particular language historic reason. Imaginably, pistols were an innovation taken from Italian, contrasting with the long builds. A Pistol is generically called "Handfeuerwaffe". In the same way, a "Schusswaffe" should, but practically doesn't denote an archers bow. In contrast to a bow, guns involve gun-fire, but we do not say "Feuerwaffe", though the term does seem to exist, to my surprise.

– vectory
7 hours ago






1




1





@vectory Why do you say a bow isn't a Schusswaffe? If you asked me to name one, I'd probably name a type of gun first, but if you asked me what type of weapon a bow was, I'd definitely say Schusswaffe. The crossbow is another such case.

– Philipp
6 hours ago





@vectory Why do you say a bow isn't a Schusswaffe? If you asked me to name one, I'd probably name a type of gun first, but if you asked me what type of weapon a bow was, I'd definitely say Schusswaffe. The crossbow is another such case.

– Philipp
6 hours ago













@Phillip, it's not even a weapon, nowadays, but a "Sportgerät" or a historical artifact.

– vectory
4 hours ago





@Phillip, it's not even a weapon, nowadays, but a "Sportgerät" or a historical artifact.

– vectory
4 hours ago













@vectory Sorry, you're thinking of Bundeswehr or Feuerwehr, but the historic term is, rather specifically, a long knive with one sharp edge, the defence weapon of a free man, but not a nobleman or for war. And "Feuerwaffe" separates the gun from the crossbow, both of which are "Schusswaffen". Also in modern legal terms, where the latter are qualified by the ability to be kept charged without effort, and released by a trigger. A bow is not per se regarded as a weapon, but only if actually used as such.

– Karl
3 hours ago





@vectory Sorry, you're thinking of Bundeswehr or Feuerwehr, but the historic term is, rather specifically, a long knive with one sharp edge, the defence weapon of a free man, but not a nobleman or for war. And "Feuerwaffe" separates the gun from the crossbow, both of which are "Schusswaffen". Also in modern legal terms, where the latter are qualified by the ability to be kept charged without effort, and released by a trigger. A bow is not per se regarded as a weapon, but only if actually used as such.

– Karl
3 hours ago











6














Waffe = weapon



This can be a gun, a bomb, a missile, and many other things that are made to hurt or kill people.
Depending on the context a Waffe also can be anything that can be used to hurt or kill people, independent for what it was made. So also a screwdriver, a baseball bat or a box cutter can be weapons.





Gewehr = riffle, long gun



A Gewehr is any gun with a long barrel, i.e. something to shoot bullets, but not a pistol.





Schusswaffe = gun



Schusswaffe (literal: shoot-weapon) is the German word for any weapons that can be used to shoot bullets.






share|improve this answer


























  • German language (and law) makes a clear distiction between a weapon, made for the purpose (a gun, a spring knive, a crossbow), and sth. that is just used as one in a given case (screwdriver, axe, bow and arrow ,..).

    – Karl
    3 hours ago


















6














Waffe = weapon



This can be a gun, a bomb, a missile, and many other things that are made to hurt or kill people.
Depending on the context a Waffe also can be anything that can be used to hurt or kill people, independent for what it was made. So also a screwdriver, a baseball bat or a box cutter can be weapons.





Gewehr = riffle, long gun



A Gewehr is any gun with a long barrel, i.e. something to shoot bullets, but not a pistol.





Schusswaffe = gun



Schusswaffe (literal: shoot-weapon) is the German word for any weapons that can be used to shoot bullets.






share|improve this answer


























  • German language (and law) makes a clear distiction between a weapon, made for the purpose (a gun, a spring knive, a crossbow), and sth. that is just used as one in a given case (screwdriver, axe, bow and arrow ,..).

    – Karl
    3 hours ago
















6












6








6







Waffe = weapon



This can be a gun, a bomb, a missile, and many other things that are made to hurt or kill people.
Depending on the context a Waffe also can be anything that can be used to hurt or kill people, independent for what it was made. So also a screwdriver, a baseball bat or a box cutter can be weapons.





Gewehr = riffle, long gun



A Gewehr is any gun with a long barrel, i.e. something to shoot bullets, but not a pistol.





Schusswaffe = gun



Schusswaffe (literal: shoot-weapon) is the German word for any weapons that can be used to shoot bullets.






share|improve this answer















Waffe = weapon



This can be a gun, a bomb, a missile, and many other things that are made to hurt or kill people.
Depending on the context a Waffe also can be anything that can be used to hurt or kill people, independent for what it was made. So also a screwdriver, a baseball bat or a box cutter can be weapons.





Gewehr = riffle, long gun



A Gewehr is any gun with a long barrel, i.e. something to shoot bullets, but not a pistol.





Schusswaffe = gun



Schusswaffe (literal: shoot-weapon) is the German word for any weapons that can be used to shoot bullets.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 5 hours ago

























answered 5 hours ago









Hubert SchölnastHubert Schölnast

72.1k6104238




72.1k6104238













  • German language (and law) makes a clear distiction between a weapon, made for the purpose (a gun, a spring knive, a crossbow), and sth. that is just used as one in a given case (screwdriver, axe, bow and arrow ,..).

    – Karl
    3 hours ago





















  • German language (and law) makes a clear distiction between a weapon, made for the purpose (a gun, a spring knive, a crossbow), and sth. that is just used as one in a given case (screwdriver, axe, bow and arrow ,..).

    – Karl
    3 hours ago



















German language (and law) makes a clear distiction between a weapon, made for the purpose (a gun, a spring knive, a crossbow), and sth. that is just used as one in a given case (screwdriver, axe, bow and arrow ,..).

– Karl
3 hours ago







German language (and law) makes a clear distiction between a weapon, made for the purpose (a gun, a spring knive, a crossbow), and sth. that is just used as one in a given case (screwdriver, axe, bow and arrow ,..).

– Karl
3 hours ago












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