Questions tagged [word-choice]
Wortwahl - Choosing the best word out of a list of alternatives.
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Difference between Erzeugen vs Erstellen vs Erschaffen
This post explains to me the difference between first two but could someone explain the difference between third and first two?
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1
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"Paket ist angekommen" or "Paket ist eingetroffen"?
Is it correct to use the verb ankommen when talking about a parcel that's arrived, or does eintreffen have to be used here?
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2
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Der Film läuft oder läuft ab?
I would like to ask if there's a difference between "laufen" and "ablaufen" in the following context:
DWDS: Dieser Film läuft die dritte Woche. /// Der Hauptfilm läuft schon.
DWDS:...
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0
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Lässt sich "zu einer" als "zur" umschreiben? [duplicate]
Wie kommt es eigentlich, dass man bei einem Satz wie "Ich mache das zu einer Routine" das "zu einer" mit "zur" umschreiben kann? Ich dachte immer, dass "zur" ...
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German word for towel or a fabric that helps dry baby's skin after bath starts with "Wasch_"
I am watching German video on how to bathe a newborn baby, The lady explaining asks for "towel" (the word I am trying to find) to be ready. I looked it up in a few dictionaries but couldn't ...
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2
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Indirekte Rede für Modalverben
Kann man sagen :
"Er sagte, er möge nicht darüber sprechen."
Oder muss man wollen verwenden,
"Er sagte, er wolle nicht darüber sprechen."
Ist der erste Satz absolut falsch?
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no days off : translation?
In short: What would be the idiomatic German equivalent of "no days off!" if it means "you have to work/exercise every day"? Is there anything better than "Kein Tag ohne ...
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Which one is correct: Browser Chrome, Chrome-Browser oder Chrome Browser?
I am not sure about which version is correct. A Google search could not help.
Which option would you use and why?
Are the others just less common or incorrect?
Browser Chrome
Chrome-Browser
Chrome ...
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1
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Is there a way to pick up on the philosophical differences between German and English?
Once one understands word order and actual meanings of words in German, a difficulty which still keeps them from being able to use their knowledge to full potential is the different philosophical ...
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usage of "außerdem" with "dazu"
außerdem hätten wir gerne noch ein Croissant dazu bitte.
translates to
We'd also like a croissant please.
is dazu needed? as außerdem + noch already portrays also and yet another. Also curious how ...
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Begünstigter oder Begünstiger?
If Begünstigter means "beneficiary, a person who receives money", then what does Begünstiger mean?
There are no entries for either in Duden...
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Etwas zu etwas gehört
Could you please help me with ways to complete this sentence?
Zu meinen besonderen Interessen (in meinem Studienfach) gehörten/ gehören vor allem …...
My dictionary tells me that "X zu Y gehört&...
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ist dazu/dafür gut, damit/dass
Betrachten wir den folgenden Abschnitt:
[…] die Ferse ist verstärkt und hochgezogen. Das ist dazu gut, dass
der Fuß besser gehalten werden kann und das Anbringen von Sporen
möglich ist.
(Quelle: ...
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3
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"without offence" in German
How would you authentically say in German "without offence" in the meaning that I don't want to hurt the counterpart's feelings?
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Different ways to say "why"
This question also has an answer here (in German):
Was ist der Unterschied zwischen den Fragewörtern "wieso", "weshalb" und "warum"?
I know that there are multiple ...
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"Also" vs. "beziehungsweise"
I know that also can mean:
das bedeutet, das heißt (d.h.), mit anderen Worten...
And that beziehungsweise can mean:
oder vielmehr, genauer gesagt, besser gesagt...
Is there any difference then ...
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0
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Use of "wie" as a subordinating conjunction [closed]
In the following sentence:
Ich muss mir einen Plan ausdenken, wie ich in kurzer Zeit viel Geld verdienen kann.
Does "wie" here mean "dass", "sodass" or "damit"...
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2
answers
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Ist das korrekt? "bitte entschuldige meine verspätete Antwort"
Ich beantworte eine E-Mail eines Kollegen mit einer Verspätung und will mich dafür entschuldigen. Wäre es korrekt, wenn ich schreiben würde: »Bitte entschuldige meine verspätete Antwort«? Oder besser: ...
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Wishing a colleague a nice return to work after her vaccation
Is this sentence correct:
Ich wünsche dir eine angenehme Rückkehr in die Arbeit.
Can one say this in German or would it make no sense?
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"Es gibt interessante Gebäude in der Region." or "Es sind interessante Gebäude in der Region."?
Which is correct and why? "Es gibt interessante Gebäude in der Region." or "Es sind interessante Gebäude in der Region."? Thanks.
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Noch vs. auch vs. außerdem
Which one of the following sentences is correct, or are all acceptable?
Meine Hobbys sind kochen, schwimmen und Fahrrad fahren. Ich lese noch gerne.
Vs.
Meine Hobbys sind kochen, schwimmen und ...
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1
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Is "Krankenpflegerin" replacing "Krankenschwester"?
It seems odd to me that a male (medical) nurse is called Krankenpfleger, but a female nurse is still called Krankenschwester and not Krankenpflegerin. Is there any movement toward phasing out ...
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"So" vs. "sowas/so was"
In the following sentences:
Heißt sie nicht Kaminski oder so?
Wir können was trinken gehen oder so.
Can we use "oder sowas"?
And here:
Sie arbeitet für eine Bank oder so was.
Was sind ...
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1
answer
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Which one is right usage auf dem Bild or im Bild?
The context is slides of powerpoint presentation.
My sentence:
The teacher can only share important points on the slide.
Der Lehrer kann nur wichtige Punkte auf dem Bild teilen.
Translator:
Der ...
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4
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what is the proper word for 'get around' in German?
If I want to say 'when you want to get around in Seoul, it's better to go with your friend', what's the correct or natural word for 'get around'? I've found umgehn, belaufen, walzen, streunen, ...
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2
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Would "Fräulein" be offensive to use towards young girls? [duplicate]
I've read that "Fräulein" is offensive to use towards women because it's a diminutive, and that "Frau" is better to use for women, but would "Fräulein" be considered ...
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Is there a difference between "riechen" and "wittern"?
As far as I can tell, these words are pretty much synonyms. "Wittern" seems to be more related to hunting, like smelling out prey, but I'm not sure.
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What is the difference between "das gibt" and "es gibt"?
I've seen "es gibt" and "da ist/sind" a lot, but I was looking at the lyrics of "99 Luftballons", and it says "Das gab ein großes Feuerwerk". According to the ...
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1
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"gestehen" vs. "eingestehen"
DUDEN, DWDS und Wiktionary betrachten diese Verben als Synonyme. Hier https://dict.leo.org/forum/viewGeneraldiscussion.php?idForum=4&idThread=466117&lp=ende&lang=de habe ich jedoch ...
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What would be some similar "-gang pairs"... to "Aufgang" and "Niedergang", as well as "Übergang" and "Untergang"?
I'd like to frame this into a sort of fill-in-the-blank format, to best allude to the meanings I'm trying to ascribe to the above pairs. I will also, subsequently, put these pairs into a 3-axis matrix,...
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0
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Schreibt man "ist" oder "sind" bei Aufzählungen [duplicate]
Schreibt man den Satz mit "ist" oder mit "sind"?
Ruhm und Ehre oder Geld, sind/ist nicht alles auf der Welt.
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When to use "mehr" and when "weiter"?
In conversation with 2 native German speakers I said:
Wesen, die nicht mehr entwickelt als Seesterne sind.
And they corrected me to:
Wesen, die nicht weiter entwickelt als Seesterne sind.
Can ...
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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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Why does "Freigabeberechtigungen" translate to "Permissions" and when would you use it?
I recently encountered the word "Freigabeberechtigungen" in an email (specifically, an email offering me permission to view someone else's work calendar in Microsoft Outlook) and was ...
1
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1
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Unter vs unterhalb?
Es war unter seiner Würde.
Why not:
Es war unterhalb seiner Würde?
That seems to work with Duden's definition:
unter etwas, tiefer als etwas gelegen
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What is the difference between "hinzufügen" and "dazugeben"
I have looked at various sources, both verbs have the general meaning of "to add to something" but they do not seem to be used in the same context. "dazugeben" seems to be used ...
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In/Im [City Name]
I would like to write this sentence: What happened in New York in 2001.09.11.
Which one of the following is the correct one?
Was ist am 11. September 2001 in New York passiert?
Was ist am 11. ...
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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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(Grund)Schule anfangen, kommen or beginnen?
How do you say it? To start school.
Schule anfangen.
Schule kommen.
Schule beginnen.
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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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Is "sich um … handeln" or "umgehen" correct?
I checked the dictionary and I came across texts in the books and I have also seen examples, wherein people used sich handlen um for handling problems, dealing with problems, or to cope up with it. ...
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Auswahl besser mit "mehrere" oder "verschiedene"?
Aus einer Menge von strukturell unterschiedlichen Möglichkeiten möchte ich eine Option auswählen. Dazu ein Beispiel:
Erdbeben, ein Streik des Nahverkehrs oder eine Unachtsamkeit eines Ingenieurs ...
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3
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The correct usage of "to charge/debit somebody's credit card"
I have recently had confusion on how to correctly express the term "to charge/debit somebody's account/credit card" in German. I have always known "belasten" as the correct term ...
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2
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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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2
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Unseren vs. unsern vs. unsren
Part of this question already exists on Reddit, but I thought it would be worth asking again here because it might produce some more reliable and complete answers. In Wiktionary's declension table (...
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How to say: "The film/series came out yesterday"
Specifically, I want to know the correct verb in German for "to come out". It doesn't matter if the movie came out or the pastor is coming out sometime in the future.
I guess I can always ...
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What is the difference between "kaufen", "holen" and "nehmen" when we mean to buy?
In many circumstances we could not only use "kaufen" to refer to "to buy". "holen" and "nehmen" sometimes could also imply the meaning of "to buy",
z....
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3
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Difference between «könnten» and «mögen» when we speak about the eventuality of something
I don’t really understand the nuances between these two sentences:
Er könnte zum Friseur gehen.
Er mag zum Friseur gehen.
Or:
Er könnte Recht haben.
Er mag Recht haben.
2
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2
answers
202
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What is true meaning of Sympathie? [closed]
What does "Küssen bei Sympathie" mean? The English translation doesn't make sense.
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Wie funktioniert "mit" im Satz: Das würde Ärger mit ihm geben
Vermutlich bedeuten die zwei Sätze nicht das Gleiche:
Das würde Ärger mit ihm geben.
Das würde ihm Ärger geben.
Es scheint auch, dass "mit … geben" im ersten Satz kein trennbares Verb ist. ...
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