The verb dienen translates as "to serve." But like in English, there are many contexts for this verb that don't have to do with relationships between people. Very often, dienen is used to describe how something serves a certain purpose:

Sie dienen dazu, in Häusern böse Geister zu vertreiben.

They serve to drive evil spirits out of houses.

Caption 27, Cettina erklärt: Pfingsten

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Sie dienen vielen Tieren als Futter.

They serve as fodder for many animals.

Caption 50, Deutsch mit Eylin: Bäume

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The verb bedienen is related, but actually has a couple of different meanings. It can relate to waiting tables, though the actual act of serving food, whether at home or in a restaurant, is servieren. The reflexive verb sich bedienen means "to help oneself." Below, you'll see the formal and informal versions:

Dann bedienen Sie sich einfach. Komm! -Komm!

Then just help yourself. Come on! -Come on!

Caption 24, Großstadtrevier: Von Monstern und Mördern

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Viel Spaß! Da hinten steht was zu Trinken. Bedient euch. -Ja.

Have fun! There's stuff to drink back there. Help yourselves. -Yeah.

Caption 52, Die Pfefferkörner: Alles auf Anfang

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The noun die Selbstbedienung, a word that you might find at a café or gas station, means "self-service." But this doesn't necessarily mean you can help yourself!

An important meaning of bedienen is "to operate," as in to operate a device or machine. A user's manual is called die Bedienungsanleitung.

Wenn ihr diesen Wendehammer richtig bedient, könnt ihr die Mauer einreißen.

If you operate this turning area correctly, you can break down the wall.

Captions 73-74, Es war einmal … Entdecker und Erfinder: Archimedes

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Further Learning
You'll find many examples of these nouns and verbs used in context on German Yabla. Just do a quick search!

There are several words in German that convey the essential meaning of "however," even if they are not always translated as such. The primary words to look out for are allerdings, jedoch, and hingegen.

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Dirk Nowitzki weiß allerdings, wo seine Wurzeln liegen.

Dirk Nowitzki knows, however, where his roots lie.

Caption 24, Basketball-Superstar - Dirk Nowitzki im Kino

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Allerdings scheiterte sein Fluchtversuch. 

However, his attempt to flee failed. 

Caption 7, 25 Jahre Mauerfall - Radtour durch die Geschichte

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Das Wahrzeichen ist jedoch das mit feuervergoldeten Kupferschindeln gedeckte Goldene Dachl.

The landmark, however, is the Goldenes Dachl [Golden Roof] covered with fire-gilded copper tiles.

Caption 31, 48 h in Innsbruck - Sehenswürdigkeiten & Tipps

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Der Eintrittspreis ist jedoch der alte geblieben.

The entry fee, however, stayed the same.

Caption 17, Autokino - Gravenbruch

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An anderen Orten und in anderen Ländern wird hingegen das Vieh geehrt.

In other places and countries, however, the cattle are honored.

Caption 21, Cettina erklärt - Pfingsten

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Der Bilderrahmen hingegen ist quadratisch, weil alle vier Seiten gleich lang sind.

The picture frame, however, is square, because all four sides are equally long.

Captions 40-41, Eva zeigt uns - Formen

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You may also see any of the words above translated as "at the same time," "on the other hand," or simply as "but." Similarly, aber and doch are occasionally translated as "however." Dennoch (translated as "nonetheless," "nevertheless," "however") and wiederum ("in turn," "on the other hand," "however") are two more words that have a similar function.

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Further Learning
Pay attention to the various ways in which these words are translated on Yabla German and especially to the position of the word in the English sentence in comparison with the original German, as it may not be the same.