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Thrilled and excited are adjectives you will hear and see often when someone is talking very positively about something or someone.

We are thrilled to present...

I am excited to be here in...

We were thrilled to hear...

I'm trying to figure out how to best translate this into German. Clearly, a direct translation of the word, i.e. aufgeregt/erregt, doesn't capture the spirit of the English expression. "Begeistert" may be a more fitting translation of the word itself but it cannot be used in the same context in German.

So, I always end up with the word "Freude" in one way or another, i.e. "wir sind erfreut", "es freut uns/mich", "wir freuen uns". I guess it's very similar although, in my opinion, it lacks a certain enthusiasm I find in the words thrilled and excited. I guess I could add a qualifier such as "Wir freuen uns wahnsinnig" but that seems almost too informal.

Is there some other, maybe better way of trying to convene the same message in German?

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  • Maybe something like "Es ist mir eine außergewöhnliche (große, besondere etc.) Freude ..." – AndreasM Oct 28 '20 at 17:02
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    The three expressions sound very much like corporate- and marketing-speak. Sure, one hears them a lot, but in German if you use something directly equivalent it would sound exaggerated, and possibly would not be received well. If you use something like Es freut mich ... , you cannot go wrong. – Martin Peters Oct 28 '20 at 17:59
  • Welcome to German.SE. The enthusiasm is real? – Shegit Brahm Oct 28 '20 at 18:00
  • Yes, it's real. At the same time I don't want it to get too informal. It should still be possible to use it in regular business correspondence or official marketing materials. In my particular case, I'd like to share with my clients how very enthused I am about a new service that I'm able to provide. – vic Oct 28 '20 at 18:15
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You're right, the usual expressions are indeed based on

Wir freuen uns, ...

You can intensify with adverbs like sehr, besonders, ganz besonders, außerordentlich, or more colloquially with riesig, wahnsinnig, or unheimlich.

A very conservative way to put it would be:

Wir sind erfreut, ...
Wir sind hocherfreut, ...
Wir sind über alle Maßen erfreut, ...

You could use "begeistert" in the form of

Mit Begeisterung präsentieren wir Ihnen ...
Voller Begeisterung präsentieren wir Ihnen ...

which does convey enthusiasm pretty well IMO.

If you are an influencer talking to generation Youtube and have no fear to annoy:

Ich war total geflasht, als ich gehört habe ...
Ich bin mega happy, ...

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