Mastering German Vocabulary

A Practical Guide to Troublesome Words

Bruce Donaldson

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2004
• ISBN:
  9781134507818
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Filología
• Subtopic: Idiomas

How often have you looked up an English word in a German dictionary only to be confronted by a bewildering array of German equivalents? Which is the correct word for the context in question? Thirty years' experience in teaching Germanic languages at tertiary level to English-speaking students have made the author acutely aware of this problem. Mastering German Vocabulary explains how to use over 2, 200 common German words correctly, using example sentences in German with English translations.In order to aid quick consultation, all German and English words are listed in separate indexes. The book is designed for all upper secondary and tertiary students of German and complements Routledge's grammar, dictionary and vocabulary building textbooks. It is a practical companion for anyone serious about perfecting their German.

Mastering German Vocabulary

DOI: 10.4324/9780203646823-1

to abbreviate, abridge, shorten

abkürzen, kürzen, kürzer machen, verkürzen

Kürzen refers to quantity and is thus used for abridging a book or essay, e.g. Du musst deinen Aufsatz drastisch kürzen ‘You must shorten your essay drastically’, Das ist die gekürzte Ausgabe des Wörterbuchs ‘That is the abridged edition of the dictionary’. Kürzen can often be used interchangeably with kürzer machen, which is more usual for items of apparel requiring shortening (commonly kürzer machen lassen ‘to have shortened’).

Verkürzen refers usually to time but can be applied to distance too, e.g. Die Gewerkschaft strebt verkürzte Arbeitszeit an ‘The union is striving for shorter working hours’. Kürzen can be used for time too, but only when there is a disadvantage to those concerned, e.g. Wegen der schlechten Konjunktur wurde die Arbeitswoche bei VW um 10 Stunden gekürzt ‘As a result of the weak economy the working week at VW was reduced by 10 hours’.

Abkürzen means to abbreviate words, e.g. Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland kürzt man mit BRD ab/wird mit BRD abgekürzt ‘The Federal Republic of Germany is abbreviated to FRG’. But this verb also refers to shortening a distance (short cutting), e.g. So können wir den Weg abkürzen ‘This way we can shorten the distance/make a short cut’. And finally abkürzen is used for shortening or reducing the duration of s.t., in particular when it was intended to last longer, e.g. Wegen der Lawine haben wir unseren Aufenthalt in Tirol abgekürzt ‘Because of the avalanche we shortened our stay in the Tyrol’.

about

an, etwa, gegen, rund, über, ungefähr

’About’ meaning ‘approximately’ is most usually expressed by either ungefähr or etwa, which are synonymous and interchangeable, e.g. Er hat sich seit ungefähr/etwa einer Woche nicht blicken lassen ‘He hasn't shown himself for about a week’.

Ungefähr can also be used with reference to the hour, e.g. Er kommt normalerweise ungefähr um vier Uhr nach Hause ‘He normally gets home at about four o'clock’, but in this function gegen is also commonly heard, Er kommt immer gegen vier (Uhr) nach Hause.

But gegen is used in other contexts too with the connotation of ‘getting on towards, but no more than’, e.g. Gegen drei Millionen Menschen wohnen jetzt in dieser Stadt ‘About three million people now live in this town’. The following is synonymous with gegen: an die drei Millionen Menschen.

Rund renders literally ‘round about’, e.g. Rund ein Fünftel aller Haiarten sind bedroht ‘(Round) about/around a fifth of all shark species are threatened’.

‘About’ meaning ‘concerning’ as in ‘a book/film about’ is über+acc., e.g. Ich habe gerade ein Buch über den Vietnam-Krieg gelesen ‘I have just read a book about the Vietnam War’, Worüber redet ihr?—What are you talking about? (see TO SPEAK) Note the following two important idioms that also express ‘about’ in this sense: Dieses Buch handelt vom Ersten Weltkrieg/Es handelt sich in diesem Buch um den Ersten Weltkrieg This book is about the First World War’. In the latter idiom, which is much less common than the former, the subject is always an impersonal es, e.g. Worum handelt es sich in diesem Bericht? ‘What is this report about?’ (see TO DEAL WITH).

to accept

akzeptieren, annehmen, entgegennehmen, in Kauf nehmen, hinnehmen

The usual word is annehmen which can take both a concrete object like payment or a job and a less tangible object such as help or an invitation, but can also be used without an object, e.g. Ich habe (die Stelle/das Angebot) angenommen ‘I accepted (the job/offer)’. Akzeptieren is a somewhat elevated synonym of annehmen, e.g. Das Judentum akzeptiert die Homosexualität ‘Judaism accepts homosexuality’.

In more elevated language where ‘to accept’ is synonymous with ‘to receive’ entgegennehmen will be encountered, but it is often interchangeable with annehmen, e.g. Er nahm Schmiergelder in Millionenhöhe entgegen ‘He accepted (=received) bribes in the millions’, Der Wissenschaftler hat den Preis im Namen des kubanischen Volkes entgegengenommen ‘The scientist accepted the prize in the name of the Cuban people’.

Where the object of ‘to accept’ is s.t. to your detriment or dissatisfaction, and thus you accept the inevitable only with resignation or reluctance, hinnehmen is required, e.g. Die Partei wird diese Niederlage einfach hinnehmen müssen The party will simply have to accept this defeat’.

In Kauf nehmen is similar in meaning to hinnehmen but implies somewhat less suffering or inevitability, e.g. Wegen der Protestaktionen haben Fahrer viele Staus auf den Autobahnen in Kauf nehmen müssen ‘Drivers had to accept (contend with) many traffic jams on the freeways as a result of the demonstrations’.

the accident, crash

der Absturz, der Unfall, das Unglück, der Zufall

The most general word for an ‘accident’ which is not necessarily fatal, is Unfall, e.g. Ich habe einen Unfall im Auto gehabt ‘I've had an accident in the car’. Unglück, in addition to meaning misfortune, refers to a serious accident or crash, e.g. Im Zugunglück von Eschede sind viele Leute ums Leben gekommen ‘Many people died in the Eschede train crash’.

‘To crash’ with reference to planes is abstürzen, from which is derived der (Flugzeug) Absturz ‘(the aeroplane) accident/crash’.

Where accident is synonymous with coincidence or chance, Zufall is required, e.g. Durch/per Zufall haben wir uns im Supermarkt getroffen ‘We met by accident in the supermarket’.

according to

laut, nach, nach Meinung von, so, zufolge

Zufolge (+dat.), which follows the noun, is possibly the most common way of expressing ‘according to’ when it is not a person involved, e.g. Alten Quellen zufolge kostete ein Sklave 306 Gramm Silber ‘According to ancient sources a slave cost 306 grammes of silver’.

Interchangeable with zufolge is laut (+dat.), e.g. Laut Berichten sind über 100 Menschen im Unglück umgekommen ‘According to reports over 100 people died in the accident’.

When a person follows ‘according to’ and the expression is synonymous with ‘in my/your/her opinion’ etc., it is best to say just that, e.g. Ihrer Meinung nach ist er schuldig ‘In her opinion he is guilty’. If the holder of the opinion is a noun, rather than a possessive pronoun as in the previous example, the expression is as follows: Meine Tante ist der Meinung, dass… ‘According to my aunt…’. (see OPINION)

‘According to’ in legal parlance (compare in accordance with) is nach, e.g. Nach Artikel 256 ‘According to article 256’ (in a law). It is commonly used in combination with Angaben with reference to the opinion of people, e.g. Nach Angaben des Zeugen ‘According to the witness’, Die Terrorgruppe hat nach Polizeiangaben bisher 5,5 Millionen Dollar Lösegeld erpresst ‘According to police the terrorist group has so far extorted 5.5 million dollars ransom’.

In journalese so often follows reported speech where in English we would say either ‘according to x’ or ‘x said’, e.g. Angeblich, so ein Sprecher der UN, hätten Paramilitärs einen Anschlag auf die Forscher geplant ‘Apparently, according to a UN spokesman (=a UN spokesman said), paramilitaries had planned an attack on the research workers’.

to accuse

anklagen, anschuldigen, beschuldigen, vorwerfen

‘To accuse’ s.o. of s.t. criminal where there is a connotation of laying charges, is jdn anklagen wegen, e.g. Sie hat ihn wegen Diebstahls angeklagt ‘She has accused him of theft’ (and reported this to the police), Der Staatsanwalt hat ihn wegen Diebstahls angeklagt ‘The pubic prosecutor has charged him with theft’, Sie hat ihn angeklagt, ihren Ring gestohlen zu haben ‘She has accused him of having stolen her ring’ (and reported this to the police).

‘To accuse’ s.o. of s.t. or doing s.t. without the connotation of laying charges is beschuldigen, e.g. Er hat mich beschuldigt, ihn beleidigt zu haben ‘He has accused me of insulting him’, Die Frau hat ihn des Mordes beschuldigt The woman has accused him of murder’. As illustrated, beschuldigen refers to a specific accusation.

Anschuldigen is not common, although the noun Anschuldigung is. The two words do not differ markedly from beschuldigen and Beschuldigung although the former can imply the hurling of general accusations at s.o., e.g. Die Anschuldigungen, die gegen ihn erhoben werden, sind grundlos ‘The accusations being directed at him are groundless’.

Where ‘to accuse’ s.o. of s.t. is synonymous with ‘to reproach’ s.o. with s.t., use jdm etwas vorwerfen, e.g. Er hat ihr vorgeworfen, nicht mithelfen zu wollen ‘He accused her of not wanting to lend a hand’ (=reproached her with not wanting to lend a hand), Er warf mir Undankbarkeit vor ‘He accused me of ingratitude’.

to admit, confess

beichten, bekennen, eingestehen, gestehen, zugeben

Gestehen means ‘to confess’ s.t. to s.o. in the nonreligious sense, e.g. Er hat (mir) seine Teilnahme an der Tat gestanden ‘He confessed his participation in the act’ (to me), Ich muss gestehen, dass ich mit der Entscheidung sehr unzufrieden bin ‘I have to confess I am very unhappy with the decision’. Gestehen is also used for ‘admitting/confessing’ to a crime, e.g. Er hat den Einbruch gestanden ‘He admitted/confessed to the burglary’.

Eingestehen too refers to ‘confessing’ a crime or fault but more fully than gestehen, e.g. Er gestand seine Niederlage/Schuld ein ‘He admitted defeat/He confessed his guilt’.

Sich bekennen zu renders ‘to confess/admit to’ a sin or crime. This verb is the only possible expression when a criminal (group) claims responsibility for an incident, e.g. Eine bislang unbekannte Gruppe Terroristen bekannte sich zur Tat ‘A hitherto unknown group admitted to the act’.

Zugeben means ‘to admit/confess’ in the sense of ‘to own up t...