German

Alternative forms

• Schüppe (less common spelling, but very common spoken form)

Noun

Schippe f ‎(genitive Schippe, plural Schippen)

1. shovel

   Sie hat den Graben ganz allein mit der Schippe ausgehoben.‎

   She's dug the ditch all on her own with a shovel.

2. (figuratively) used as a typical property of manual labourers

   Es kann nicht jeder Professor sein. Irgendwer muss auch mit der Schippe arbeiten.‎

   Not everybody can be a professor. Someone must work with a shovel, too.

Usage notes

• Schippe and Schüppe are preferred to the synonym Schaufel in many parts of northern and central Germany. The latter is, however, more common in formal contexts.

Declension

Synonyms

• Schaufel

Derived terms

• schippen
• von der Schippe springen