Questions tagged [german-to-english]
Übersetzung Deutsch nach Englisch - Questions on translations from German to English.
3
votes
2answers
100 views
Translation difficulties of “Finden Sie?”, “denn” and usage of “aber”
Can't grasp the meaning of Finden Sie and denn in the following conversation.
Brauchen Sie Hilfe?
Ja, bitte. Wie viel kostet denn der Tisch?
Der Tisch kostet 1478 Euro.
Das ist aber sehr ...
0
votes
1answer
55 views
Translating the separable verb and the adverbs before it
I am not sure if anyone has tried Pollard's methods of translation. His book on "Analytical Approach to German Translation" gives pretty useful rules. One of the rules for separable verbs is a general ...
3
votes
1answer
64 views
Identifying the role of definite article when there are several words between the definite article and the noun
I have a scientific translation query (self-teaching practices). Could someone help in explaining with which noun is die associated with? Gesichtspunkten has diesen with it. There are three nouns in ...
-1
votes
1answer
66 views
How to say I love something in german? [closed]
I've noticed that people use ''ich liebe...(jmd)'' for people, a lot, but not for things.
How should I say ''I love Medicine'' or ''I love Africa'' or ''I love New York'', for example?
Like, I ...
5
votes
1answer
105 views
How to identify a demonstrative/relative pronoun e.g. in “so läßt sich die dem Element A”
I am trying to self-teach scientific German for historical purposes. A sentence in a mathematical book (1922) occurs like:
Ist nunmehr eine Darstellung Γ von höherem Grade gegeben, so läßt sich die ...
0
votes
1answer
123 views
Why does 'geht's' translate to “it's” & 'geht' translate to 'going'?
I see same word 'geht' however different translations
Edit:
I am using Google Translate here so please correct me if I am wrong anywhere.
'Wie geht's?' translates to 'How are you?'
Here "geht's" ...
6
votes
2answers
454 views
“Auskopplungen” in musical context
I'm translating a short Wikipedia article about a music band from German to English.
I've done most of it with help from Google Translate and my virtually non-existent knowledge of German language, ...
0
votes
1answer
72 views
What is the best English translation for “Anreise” for a company website menu? [closed]
On a company website one usually has a page which tells customers how to get to the company offices.
In German, the word for this menu tab is "Anreise" but both standard translations sound odd in ...
5
votes
1answer
94 views
prallen aufeinander, or X prallt auf Y?
I had a quick question about "aufeinander prallen". I know we can say things like,
Diese Ideen prallen aufeinander.
Die zwei Kulturen prallten aufeinander.
In both instances, this reflects things "...
2
votes
1answer
70 views
Etymological Dictionary: German to English
Is there a German to English dictionary where word origins of German words are also given? I am looking for a modern etymological dictionary. Thanks
3
votes
4answers
195 views
19th century Beethoven translations
Both old and modern English translations of Ludwig van Beethoven's letters include English words like thee, thou, lookest, understandest, knowest, etc. (i.e. the Heiligenstadt Testament)
It appears ...
1
vote
0answers
59 views
1
vote
1answer
118 views
Meaning of “gedacht seien” and “Stofffülle” in the sentence
Schüler kritisieren auch, dass die Intensivierungsstunden, die zum Üben gedacht seien, auf Grund der Stofffülle für neuen Stoff verwendet werden müssen.
I came up with following translation although ...
3
votes
2answers
157 views
das Wort “autodidaktisch” und “I have taught myself.”
Meine Frage hat mit der Übersetzung von einem typischen Ausdruck auf Englisch zu tun. Ich würde gerne auf Deutsch sagen "I have taught myself German". Eine deutsche Freundin hat mir seit langem ...
6
votes
5answers
276 views
Translation of “Schonenhof”?
Here is a quote from a book I'm trying to read in german:
"Karl Erikssons Haus lag in einem verwahrlosten Garten. Es war ein alter Schonenhof mit ehemals zwei Flügeln. Jetzt war der eine verschwunden,...
4
votes
1answer
69 views
Can Akkusativ Objekt be written at the beginning of the sentence
Was ist der Unterschied zwischen:
Sie hängt die Hose an den Haken
Die Hose hängt sie an den Haken.
Welcher Satz ist richtig und warum?
2
votes
2answers
88 views
General Rule for Translation of German Participle Constructions
A book (Fotos & Shreve, 1940) on translating scientific German suggests that in order to translate a participle construction, the translation should proceed as follows. Translate (1) the definite ...
3
votes
1answer
85 views
Translation of “… desto eher zu …”
How should we translate this sentence from a 1918 paper on a phenomenon of electricity in conductors?
Der Schroteffekt gibt desto eher zu Störungen Anlass, je größer die Abklingzeit, je kleiner ...
3
votes
2answers
155 views
What is the sense of 'der großen Grenze oben an Ostsee' in this excerpt?
I'm trying to translate a late family member's narrative written in postwar Germany. The transcription of a short passage is as follows:
Ich bin keiner Deutscher, aber Lette aus Lettland, die ...
0
votes
1answer
91 views
Insertion of -zu- in German verbs
How does "zu" change the meaning of the verb when it is inserted in between a word?
A specific example from a 18th century paper:
In der Tat gelang es nicht, auf dem Spectrum eines glühenden ...
3
votes
3answers
250 views
German Machine Translation Error in the Order of Actions (Verbs?)
I am assessing the machine translation capability of scientific German papers/books with a native German speaker. My German is rather rudimentary. There is a sentence in a text which says
Eine ...
5
votes
3answers
147 views
“nachdenklich” vs. “gedankenvoll”
There seems to be quite a big overlap according to dictionaries, but my guess is that there is a subtle difference. Let me give one example sentence that I would like to translate:
I am looking for ...
6
votes
2answers
133 views
What is the difference between “härten”, “verhärten”, and “abhärten”?
I am looking for the difference between these three verbs. All dictionaries I’ve looked at suggest “harden”, and the boundaries between them are hard to distinguish. From what I gather:
Somebody “...
2
votes
3answers
196 views
The different ways to “approach” somebody in German
I have a quick question. I am a bit stuck with the translation of "approach" in German, as simple as it may seem. My main confusion comes between the words "an etwas herangehen" and "sich etwas/...
3
votes
3answers
204 views
Properly expressing an “incendiary” or “inflammatory” speech/comment
I was wondering if somebody could help me with properly expressing a an "incendiary" or "inflammatory" speech/comment in German.
Of course, there are many translations in the online dictionaries. I ...
0
votes
1answer
100 views
“den Hals umdrehen”
This idiom is used in a fable from "Bechsteins Märchen" in a few places. Here is one example:
"Auf der Stelle sollst du sterben dafür, dass du mir hast wollen den Hals umdrehen".
I want to know ...
2
votes
2answers
184 views
I've messed up the heads of many people with my German, but how can I express this?
I am wondering how one properly expresses, "to mess up somebody's head", in German. Let me give you two examples:
The constant propaganda took its toll and messed up his head.
Drugs really ...
1
vote
1answer
112 views
Figurative sense of “festhängen”
I know festhängen has a literal, physical meaning, and I am not concerned with that. It seems that festhängen can also mean to be stuck in a figurative sense, and that is what I am interested in.
...
1
vote
1answer
104 views
“In Gang” and “in Gange” in English
I was wondering if somebody could help me with the translation of “in Gang setzen/kommen/sein” and the seemingly related “in Gange” version. Most dictionraries seem to translate these as “get ...
4
votes
3answers
511 views
How to express “getting caught up on” in german
I was wondering if somebody could help me with the following translation:
“I didn’t expect him to like the entire plan. But the first step was the first thing he got caught up on.”
That is, “get ...
18
votes
11answers
4k views
How to express “fizzle out” in German
I'm am struggling with the right way to express, "to fizzle out", in German. Let me give some example sentences:
We were very good friends at first, but over the years, our friendship fizzled out.
...
3
votes
2answers
121 views
Differences in prallen, aufprallen, aufspringen, zusammenstoßen
I was wondering if you could help me understand the overlaps between some of these words. Dictionaries have me going in circles. The first difficulty is
Er ließ den Ball aufspringen.
Er ließ den Ball ...
3
votes
3answers
128 views
Einstellung oder Einrichtung?
Ich möchte wissen, was der Unterschied zwischen Einrichtung und Einstellung ist. Der Zusammenhang, um den es mir geht, ist „Setting“.
6
votes
1answer
123 views
The difference between “eigen” and “eigenartig”
I've been playing with the words "eigen" and "eigenartig", as well as "Eigenheit" and "Eigenart" and was trying to figure out what differentiates them, and where some overlap may be. I will start with ...
4
votes
2answers
102 views
The difference between “sich xyz stellen”, and “sich xyz anstellen”
I was wondering if you could help be figure out the difference between the two sentences.
Er stellt sich dumm.
Er stellt sich dumm an.
I think the first sentence is translated as, "He's playing/...
14
votes
2answers
2k views
Help with making out handwriting-like engraving on a silver cigarette case
Bought a silver cigarette case with this engraved on it:
I tried to translate it myself, but I don't know the language at all and couldn't really match up any letters.
I believe it's German ...
3
votes
4answers
293 views
How to properly express “to mess up” in German
I'm looking for the best way to express "to mess something up" in German. I get the feeling that in English, it is used more widely in German, and hence I have tended to make some mistakes while ...
1
vote
2answers
129 views
Confused about “dass”
I cannot parse the function of dass in the sentence below.
A note on context: A wounded knight makes a request of a stranger. He was abandoned by his squire in a fight.
Würd ihm gern das Fell ...
4
votes
1answer
130 views
The meaning of “sich etwas (dative) anschließen”
I had a few questions about the meaning of "sich etwas (dative) anschließen". It seems that there is many similar, but distinct meanings of this word that I'm struggling to get a good feeling for. Let ...
4
votes
2answers
181 views
What does Ozupftn mean?
The quotation below is copied verbatim from the closed-captioning of the latest episode1 of Tatort:
Da spielt die Brass-Band und die Ozupftn spielen auch.
It is possible that Ozupftn is a typo, or ...
1
vote
3answers
203 views
“Was denn noch alles?”
Google Translate's translation for
Was denn noch alles?
...is
What else?
...but there has to be more to it. After all, this would be the same translation as for the simpler
Was noch?
What ...
5
votes
1answer
174 views
Looking for reference work discussing fine differences among German synonyms
I will describe the ideal version of what I'm looking for, knowing that this ideal probably does not exist. Nevertheless, the description would at least give a clear target to aim for, and I hope it ...
5
votes
2answers
221 views
“gemütlich” vs. “behaglich”
I know that there have been many questions regarding translating "comfort" and "discomfort" between German and English, and I've probably read all of them on the internet thus far :) However, this ...
2
votes
1answer
114 views
How to translate “Wir gönnen ihr die Ruhe”?
I received a funeral paper which is written in German, and I don't understand this sentence:
Wir gönnen ihr die Ruhe
I would literally translate this sentence by
We give her the rest
so I ...
3
votes
1answer
97 views
To shift/readjust something in German
I am having a hard time with standard English-German dictionaries with figuring out "to shift something" and "to adjust/readjust something" in specific contexts.
Let me give some examples, and what ...
12
votes
1answer
113 views
“Sie bleiben überhaupt gern unter sich.”
What is the difference between the following two sentences?
Die Meiers bleiben sehr gern unter sich.
Die Meiers bleiben überhaupt sehr gern unter sich.
I know that both mean something like
...
4
votes
1answer
129 views
“Das ist doch Marlene!”
Can someone tell me how the following two sentences differ?
Das ist doch Marlene!
Das ist Marlene!
0
votes
1answer
87 views
English idiom for “Schluss mit Lustig”? [closed]
I was wondering how to best translate the German idiom "Schluss mit Lustig" which means something like "now it's serious, I'm not fooling around anymore".
I read on some wiki that "the party's over" ...
3
votes
1answer
137 views
Awkward grammar in German → English translation [closed]
I'm having trouble with the following translation - both Google Translate and this site seem to give a translation of the footnote circled in red to English with some awkward grammar:
From Symphony ...
0
votes
2answers
104 views
What is 'Personalmarketing'?
I have been asked to check a translation from German into English where the term Personalmarketing has been rendered as recruitment marketing. This doesn't feel right to me.
I understand ...
