Anonymous asked: Do Germans use the semicolon often in writing? And if so, is it used the same way as in English (such as connecting two independent clauses, etc.)?

Semicolons (der Strichpunkt/das Semicolon) aren’t used very often in German. But you’d see them every once in a while.

Just like in English, they’re followed by a lower-case letter (unless the following word is a noun or a name). Semicolons have a “stronger” separation function than a comma, but it’s still weaker than a period. But they’re used to seperate coordinate clauses and phrases. e.g. Ich verpasste den Bus; deswegen kam ich zu spät an. (I missed the bus; hence I arrived too late.)