Questions tagged [german-to-english]
Übersetzung Deutsch nach Englisch - Questions on translations of a single word or phrase from German to English.
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How does »zuerst einmal« mean »first of all«?
German as a Germanic language is less influenced by Latin than English so new words are just two words combined and the meaning can be easily inferred. Except sometimes.
Immer wieder is always again, ...
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"sich nicht ausschließen lassen"
Naively, I have regarded the expression sich nicht ausschließen lassen as something that one would typically apply to one hypothesis out of several (especially if this hypothesis looks particularly ...
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What does *her* add to the meaning of this sentence?
(NB: If this question starts out looking very familiar to you, this is because it is in fact my second question about the same snippet of text. The first one is this one: "andern" vs "...
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How does "zuerst glühen wir vor" translate to "first, we'll have predrinks"?
I found the sentence
Zuerst glühen wir bei mir vor.
in Memrise. According to them, it translates to
First, we'll have predrinks at my place.
and the literal translation
First, glow we by me ...
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What is the difference between "antreten" and "konkurrieren"?
I am having difficulties figuring out the difference between "antreten" and "konkurrieren" in terms of the translation "to compete". In fact, both seem to be translated ...
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What are "Lamellenspiesse"? [closed]
This meat product on a stick is called "Lamellspiess". What type of meat is it, and what is the English translation?
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Expressing "to do somebody a disservice" in German
I have been struggling with the correct way to express "to do somebody a disservice" in German. In English, this phrase is often used when your intentions are to do something good for ...
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Is there a term called component while using connectors in GermanGrammar? [closed]
The simply connector "dass" sends the verb at the end of the sentence.
I have always learned it in this way but, one trainer says this is not true.
Here is the sentence:
Michael says, that ...
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How to correctly express "get wise to"
I am having some difficulties translating the phrase: "to get wise to something" in German, where "to get wise to something" == "slowly figure out/not be fooled by somebody&...
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"bekommen" = "to give"?
I have read the following Q&A:
Warum sind Kinder heute so respektlos?
Wir haben die Freude der Kinder zerstört, indem sie alles bekommen haben, was sie wollten.
My first translation was "We ...
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Can "immer besser" mean "even better"?
In the sentence
Sie gefallen mir immer besser
the phrase immer besser obviously means better and better (i.e. increasingly better), but can it also mean even better (now) (i.e. better than before)?
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Split a sentence into elements
I try to decompose this sentence in elements and I am not sure how to do it:
Was ist denn das für eine Geschichte?
This may translate as "What kind of story is this?" (not sure).
Could you ...
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»zehn — die größte nicht zusammengesetzte Zahl« [closed]
The extended excerpt below is from p. 73 of Richard David Precht's book Erkenne die Welt (my emphasis):
...selbst wenn der Pythagoras zugeschriebene Satz »Alles ist Zahl« erst aus späterer Zeit ...
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When we will use "Halli-Hallo" Word?
I have a question regarding the German word Halli-Hallo.
Wann benutzen wir dieses Wort:
Halli-Hallo
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Swiss appartment application: "Mitbewerber" vs "Solidarhafter"?
What is the difference between Mitbewerber and Solidarhafter? Google translate says "competitor" and "more solidarity", which neither make any sense.
And why is there no option ...
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Confused about "Schon deshalb nicht, weil..." construction
I was reading Kafka's "Josefine, die Sängerin oder das Volk der Mäuse" and came across this sentence:
Aber sie hat keine Feinde, und selbst wenn mancher hie und da Einwände gegen sie hat, ...
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"Es mochte nichts helfen"
Ich versuche zu verstehen, was eine gute Übersetzung (ins Englische) für "Es mochte nichts helfen" wäre. Ich habe aus Duden.de diesen Ausdruck gefunden (unter Punkt c). Würde "It ...
user16178
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What's the point of adding "zu Mittag"?
On the following, it seems "zu Mittag" does not add any essential information. Isn't
Um wie viel Uhr isst du am Wochenende zu Mittag?
the same as
Um wie viel Uhr isst du am Wochenende?
...
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What is the most appropriate word in German to describe "to deploy"?
What is the most appropriate word in German to describe "to deploy" when it comes to technology?
I have read about "bereitstellen" and "einsetzen". What would be the ...
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What does this mean? It's a quote by Nietzsche [closed]
What does this mean: "haben und mehrwollhaben" ? I could not find it anywhere, dictionary nor google.
Can someone help me, please?
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Berührung ist *nicht gleich* Berührung
To improve my German, I have been reading Deutschewelle articles. In this article, which explains the importance of physical contact between human beings, there is this excerpt:
Dabei ist Berührung ...
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Räte-Ideen: looking for a translation
Wie würden Sie "Räte-Ideen" verstehen/übersetzen?
das konnte nur in den Räte-Ideen erscheinen
I understand, something such as, "it could only appear in simplistic classwork essays&...
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Looking for German A1/A2 vocabulary PDF with articles
I have looked at some vocabularies on the internet. Most of them are without articles (der, die, das) which is so important. I have found one paper with articles but it is in alphabetic order, I need ...
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What's the difference between "Richtungssinn" and "Richtung"?
I was studying Physics(Statik) and I saw the word Richtungssinn. It translates as "sense of direction". And I know Richtung is "direction". But what does sense of direction even ...
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Meaning of eben auch
I hear "eben auch" a lot on Deutschlandfunk. What is the most approximate translation to English?
Is it something like:
as well
or
but also
I am struggling to understand whether it ...
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Different meanings of "zu"
I have seen sentences in which zu was used for "closed" and others in which geschlossen was used.
examples:
geschlossen:
die Tür ist geschlossen
zu:
die Tür ist zu or ihre Augen waren zu
...
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What does the word "gemein" translate to
I have looked at a lot of translation websites and lost of them have said that "gemein" means common but it also says that it means cruel.
Which one is it?
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Mendel's paper: Versuche über Pflanzen-Hybriden (1865) - word for "factor"?
Please forgive me writing in English, but my pidgeon German isn't up to a complex question! I hope this is OK?
In Mendel's (absolutely brilliant) paper "Versuche über Pflanzen-Hybriden (1865)&...
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What does "meint" mean here
It looks like in the sentence:
"Meine Schwester meint, diese Show wird sich nicht lange halten".
The right English translation for meint is "say":
a) Is that correct?
b) If so ...
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What does the phrase "[jemanden] auf den baum bringen" mean and where does it come from?
I am translating a Till Eulenspiegel story from German to English, and I encountered the following sentence (source, see section 22]:
Eulenspiegels Frechheit brachte den braven Mann vollends auf den ...
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What exactly would a distance labeled Bahnhöhe mean in the context of a satellite's orbit around the Earth? [closed]
This answer refers to information in this German Wikipedia page Technology Experiment Satellite
The page contains the following information:
I recognize apogee and perigee, inclination and period.
I ...
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"Lackierte" und "Anstreicher"
In amazon review of a psychology thriller film it reads
Auch deshalb: Spott über das La-La-La Land ist völlig verfehlt. In einem anderen Land rannten 80 Millionen Lackierte dem weltgrößten ...
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What does the verb 'wegpurzeln' mean? [context inside]
I am translating a Till Eulenspiegel story from German to English, and I came across the following sentence (source link):
"Im nächsten Augenblick lagen beide am Boden und rangen und schlugen ...
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Translate "Wenn der Teufel dieser Stadt etwas Böses antun will, lässt er noch einmal so etwas wie die Schlange bauen."
I want to understand the semantic nuances behind the phrase:
"Wenn der Teufel dieser Stadt etwas Böses antun will, lässt er noch einmal so etwas wie die Schlange bauen."
I'm only at the mid ...
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What is the distinction between the two translations of "Feind"? [closed]
This perhaps is more appropriate for the English language stackexchange, but it's a question about a particular translation. Pardon my ignorance of the language.
In a translation of a "The ...
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In der Nähe vom
Die Wohnung liegt relativ zentral in der Nähe vom Stadtpark.
I understand the sentence as "the apartment lies in central, near the city park"
What is the use of vom (von) here? Do we need ...
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Does the phrase "hast du nicht gesehen" have any idiomatic meaning? [context inside]
I am translating a story about Till Eulenspiegel from German to English. The entire text can be found here, but I am interested in the following paragraph (from the first story about how he was ...
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Expressing "keep/bring in line" in German"
I am having troubles expressing "bringing/keeping someone in line" in German. This is synonymous with, "to keep somebody in control", or in German, closely related to "...
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Understanding of "erlangt durch"
I am reading "Die Geheimnisse der oberen und der unteren Welt" and encountered following usage of erlangt durch which I am not sure how to construe.
It would be highly appreciated if someone ...
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Correct usage of the words "selbstständig" and "eigenständig"
I was wondering if somebody could help me understand the difference and correct usage of the words "selbstständig" and "eigenständig". Looking in the dictionary, it seems they ...
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I'm translating a play and in the midst of it there is a German sentence I cannot understand
I don't know German and here is the sentence.
"Wunderbar! Peter look! Wie die geht! Wie die aussieht, die ist genau meine Kragenweite!" (Arnold Wesker, Kitchen)
I used google translate but ...
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Correct meaning of noch nie
The website dict.cc translates noch nie as "never before". But, noch means "yet", thus, noch nie should mean "not yet". Which one is the correct meaning of noch nie?
user44338
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What's the meaning of the title of Manstein's book, 'Verlorene Siege' - missed victories or victories won in vain?
I recently shot through Manstein's Verlorene Siege in its English translation and am curious as to what is the precise or intended meaning of its title. With my rather limited knowledge of German, I ...
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In "Han i glei net allweil bei dir sein", what is the word "han"?
In the song 'Muss i denn, muss i denn zum Städtele hinaus', there is a statement
Han i glei net allweil bei dir sein
What's the original word han here? Can't guess what it is in the dictionary.
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What does "Spuren der kurzen Nacht" mean?
What does "Spuren der kurzen Nacht" mean?
Found here:
Rund um den Deutschen Steuerberatertag bringen wir Sie und Ihr Team
aber nicht nur fachlich und organisatorisch in Bestform – auch
...
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Why do translations of German books read so differently from other books?
I'm unsure whether my question is on-topic here, but it's about the German language, so I've decided to try.
I am an undergraduate student from Japan who learns foreign languages and loves reading ...
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What is the meaning of this song title: "Die Schlampen sind müde" von Rosenstolz?
This song was performed by Rosenstolz in Berlin in 2004 and was well received. However, the word "Schlampen" seems like an insult to women. What is the popular meaning of the title of this ...
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What is the default meaning of a German Präsens tense setence in the absence of time indicators
Background
German language textbooks teach that the German language does not have a tense with a progressive or continuous aspect which would indicate that an action is happening right now and will ...
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How do you translate the "n-deklination" in tn English? [closed]
I just got familiar with n-deklination.
However, I do not understand how do you translate the "n-deklination" when you are translating a sentence from German to English?
For example, how do ...
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To "give something a boost" in German
I was wondering if you could help me properly express "to give something a boost" in German, where this generally means to "improve" or "re-energize". I was always under ...
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