| Etwas |
| 1. n. thing, being | |
| 2. n. a quality or talent that is hard to pin down | |
| Sie hat dieses gewisse Etwas. (She has this certain something.) | |
| 3. pron. something | |
| 4. adv. somewhat, slightly | |
| 5. adv. a little, a bit | |
| 6. det. (with unor plural noun) some, a bit of | |
| Hab etwas Respekt vor den Toten. - Have some respect for the dead. | |
| Nehmen |
| 1. n. gerund of nehmen | |
| 2. v. to take (something into one's possession or on one's body) | |
| Wer hat meinen Hut genommen? - Who took my hat? | |
| 3. v. (ditransitive) to take from | |
| Die Niederlage nahm der Mannschaft den Mut. - The team's defeat robbed them of their courage. | |
| 4. v. to hold (in one's hands), to grasp | |
| Hier, nimm meine Hand. - Here, take my hand. | |
| 5. v. to take, to consider (a statement, a situation, an idea, etc, in a certain way, for example seriously, badly, personally) | |
| Die Polizei nimmt die Angriffe ernst. - The police are taking the attacks seriously. | |
| Ich nehme diese Bemerkung übel. - I resent (take as offensive) that remark. | |
| Das ist eine Redewendung, also sollte man sie nicht wörtlich nehmen. - That's a figure of speech so you shouldn't take it literally. | |
| 6. v. to capture, to arrest | |
| Die Verbrecher wurden in Gewahrsam genommen. - The criminals were taken into custody. | |
| 7. v. to ingest (e.g. a pill) | |
| Nimm etwas Aspirin, wenn du Kopfschmerzen hast. - Take some aspirin if you have a headache. | |
| 8. v. to move into, to sit at (one's assigned position) | |
| Meine Damen und Herren, bitte nehmen Sie Ihre Plätze. - Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. | |
| 9. v. to use (time, effort, etc. for a specific purpose) | |
| Du solltest dir etwas Zeit nehmen, um dich zu entspannen. - You should take some time to relax. | |
| 10. v. To begin or cause the action implied by a noun to take place, possibly making the sentence more passive or indirect. | |
| Abschied nehmen - to say goodbye, lit=to take farewell | |
| Abstand nehmen - to refrain, lit=to take distance | |
| seinen Anfang nehmen - to begin, lit=to take its beginning | |
| Anstoß nehmen - to take offense | |
| ein Beispiel nehmen - to follow an example, lit=to take an example | |
| Einfluss nehmen - to exert influence, lit=to take influence | |
| ein Ende nehmen - to come to an end, lit=to take an end | |
| seinen Lauf nehmen - to run its course, lit=to take its run | |
| das Leben nehmen - to kill, lit=to take the life | |
| Maß nehmen - to take a measurement | |
| Notiz nehmen - to take notice | |
| Rücksicht nehmen - to consider, lit=to take consideration | |
| Stellung nehmen - to comment, lit=to take position | |
| einen Verlauf nehmen - to follow a course, lit=to take a course | |
| sich Zeit nehmen - to allow sufficient time, lit=to take oneself time | |
| 11. v. to cause oneself to be (in some state); to become; to take oneself (to some state) | |
| Nimm dich in Acht! - Take care! | |
| 12. v. to seize, to capture | |
| 13. v. to receive, to accept | |
| 14. v. to foul | |
| aufnehmen |
| 1. v. to pick up, lift up | |
| Wenn du die Tüte aufnimmst, achte darauf, dass du die Unterseite abstützt. - When you pick up the bag, make sure to support the bottom. | |
| 2. v. to receive, to accommodate, to take in (guests), to admit (to a hospital etc.) | |
| Sie nimmt oft Pensionsgäste auf, da ihr Haus sehr groß ist. - She often takes in boarders, since her house is very large. | |
| 3. v. to accept (into a country, a group of people), to take in, to allow into | |
| Nach einer kurzen Ritual wurde ich in den Stamm aufgenommen. - After a short ritual, I was accepted into the tribe. | |
| 4. v. to record (picture, sound, video), to take (a photograph, a dictation) | |
| Ich werde das Fußballspiel auf Video aufnehmen. - I'm going to videotape the football game. | |
| 5. v. to take up, begin, start | |
| Wann wirst du die Arbeit an dem Projekt aufnehmen? - When will you start working on the project? | |
| was |
| 1. pron. (interrogative) what | |
| Was machst du heute? - What are you doing today? | |
| 2. pron. (relative) which ((referring to the entire preceding clause)) | |
| Sie tanzte gut, was er bewunderte. - She was a good dancer, which he admired. | |
| 3. pron. (relative) that, which ((referring to das, alles, etwas, nichts, and neuter substantival adjectives)) | |
| Das ist alles, was ich weiß. - That's all that I know. | |
| Das ist das Beste, was mir passieren konnte. - That's the best that could have happened to me. | |
| 4. pron. (relative, colloquial) that, which ((referring to neuter singular nouns, instead of standard das)) | |
| Siehst du das weiße Haus, was renoviert wird? - Do you see that white house, which is being renovated? | |
| 5. pron. (indefinite, colloquial) something, anything ((instead of standard etwas)) | |
| Ich hab was gefunden. - I've found something. | |
| 6. pron. (interrogative, dated) why (with emphasis, astonishment or disapproval) | |
| Was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht? - Why on earth are you hiding your face so fearfully? | |
| 7. adv. (colloquial) a little, somewhat | |
| Ich komm was später. - I'll arrive a little later. | |
| 8. adv. (interrogative, colloquial) why, what for | |
| Was bist du heute so stumm? - Why are you so silent today? | |
| auf |
| 1. prep. (with dative) on, upon (positioned at the top of) | |
| Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. - The book is lying on the table. | |
| 2. prep. (with accusative) on, onto, up (moving to the top of) | |
| Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch. - I’m putting the book on the table. | |
| 3. prep. (with accusative) on (indicating responsibility) | |
| Das erste Getränk geht aufs Haus. - The first drink is on the house. | |
| Das fällt nicht auf dich zurück, sondern auf mich. Ich hab's vermasselt. - That's not on you but on me. I messed up. | |
| 4. prep. (with dative) in, at; used with certain nouns instead of bei or in | |
| Niemand auf der Welt hätte das voraussehen können. - No one in the world could have predicted that. | |
| auf dem Stadtplatz - in the town square | |
| Das Schiff ist auf See - The ship is at sea. | |
| auf der Kirmes - at the fun fair | |
| auf der Post - at the post office (also: bei der Post) | |
| 5. prep. (with accusative) to; used with certain nouns instead of zu or in | |
| auf die Kirmes - to the fun fair | |
| auf die Post - to the post office (also: zur Post) | |
| 6. prep. (with a language name) in (see usage note below) | |
| Was heißt das auf Deutsch? - What’s this in German? | |
| 7. prep. (linguistics) in (of a word: ending with some sound or syllable) | |
| Wörter auf -heit sind weiblich. - Words in -heit are feminine. | |
| Du kannst doch auf (’n) Sonntag nich’ den Rasen mähen! - You can’t mow the lawn on a Sunday! | |
| 8. prep. (with accusative) for (during the continuation of) | |
| auf Jahre hinaus - for years to come | |
| 9. prep. (with accusative) to, for (indicating purpose, goal or wish) | |
| Lasst uns auf deine Gesundheit drinken! - Let's drink to your health! | |
| Sie spielen auf Zeit. - They are playing for time. | |
| 10. prep. (with accusative) by (used to separate dimensions when describing the size of something) | |
| X auf Y Meter groß | |
| 11. adv. (somewhat, informal) open | |
| Die Tür ist auf. - The door is open. | |
| 12. adv. (colloquial) finished; gone (food) | |
| Hast du deine Suppe auf? - Have you finished your soup? | |
| Die Milch is’ auf. - The milk is gone. (consumed) | |
| 13. adv. (colloquial) up; awake; out of bed | |
| Ich war um sechs Uhr auf. - I was up at six o'clock. | |
| 14. interj. carry on (continue or proceed as before) | |
| 15. interj. have a go | |
| dem |
| 1. art. dative singular of der: the | |
| 2. pron. dative singular of der: to whom, to which | |
| Boden |
| 1. n. ground, soil | |
| heiliger Boden - hallowed ground | |
| 2. n. sea bottom (typically called Meeresboden) | |
| 3. n. any defined type of soil | |
| 4. n. floor | |
| 5. n. attic, garret, loft | |
| 6. n. (colloquial) flooring, floor cover (often used in this sense in compound nouns: Teppichboden, Parkettboden) | |
| liegt |
| 1. v. third-person singular present of liegen | |
| 2. v. second-person plural present of liegen | |
| 3. v. plural imperative of liegen | |
