Fügen is a verb that means "to join," "to fit," or "to add." In its reflexive form, sich fügen, it means "to comply" or "to submit." You will often see it with a prefix, and that is what we want to talk about today. Here are three particularly common verbs: 

banner4 PLACEHOLDER

Es gibt drei weitere Wörter, die du einfügen kannst.

There are three more words that you can insert.

Caption 52, Deutsch mit Eylin: Höflich sprechen, Konjunktiv 2 benutzen

 Play Caption

Als Nächstes können wir die Nudeln und den Blumenkohl hinzufügen.

Next, we can add the pasta and the cauliflower.

Caption 29, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Niedersachsen

 Play Caption

Zudem verfügen sie über einen ausgezeichneten Geruchssinn.

They also have an excellent sense of smell.

Caption 55, Evolution: Meeresbewohner

 Play Caption

There is also the related expression zur Verfügung stehen ("to be available"). The noun die Geringfügigkeit, on the other hand, refers to insignificance.

Der Computer steht Ihnen zur Verfügung.

The computer is available to you.

Caption 24, Berufsleben: das Vorstellungsgespräch

 Play Caption

Und wenn es nur um fiese E-Mails geht, dann wird es bei Gericht wegen Geringfügigkeit abgelehnt.

And if it's only about nasty emails, then it will be rejected in court because of insignificance.

Captions 20-21, Die Pfefferkörner: Gerüchteküche

 Play Caption

The verb (sich) fügen should not be confused with fugen, which is more of a technical verb used in construction and craftsmanship. It most often refers to creating or filling joints between tiles, bricks, or other building materials. It is rarely used with a prefix or in its reflexive form. If you can remember that die Fuge (without an umlaut) means "the gap" or "the joint," this can perhaps help you to not get the verbs mixed up. 

Die Fliesen müssen noch gefugt werden.
The tiles still need to be grouted.

Der Tischler fugte die Holzbretter perfekt ineinander. 
The carpenter joined the wooden boards perfectly.

Interestingly, the other meaning of die Fuge is a type of musical composition featuring a main melody that is imitated and joined by additional melodies that are woven together. As you may have guessed, this is known as a "fugue" in English.

Further Learning
You will find many more versions of the words above used in context on Yabla German.

Today we will look at a unique, but somewhat confusing German word: the conjunctive adverb zwar. Mainly confusing because it doesn’t have a single equivalent in English, it’s a word that can be used to create more expressive German sentences — a great word to know!

banner PLACEHOLDER

First of all, zwar can be used when making a clarification. Where we would use "namely," "that is," or "indeed" in English, in German you often see the phrase und zwar.

Zu seinem einhundertfünfundneunzigsten Geburtstag hat der Philosoph seine Geburtsstadt Trier erobert, und zwar gleich in fünfhundertfacher Ausführung.

For his one hundred ninety-fifth birthday, the philosopher has conquered his birth city of Trier, namely, in the form of five hundred duplicate copies.

Captions 3-5, „Mini-Marxe“: In Trier

 Play Caption

Wir beobachten aber auch, dass sich die Welt verändert, und zwar in rasantem Tempo.

We also observe, however, that the world is changing, and indeed at a rapid pace.

Caption 17, Angela Merkel: Gemeinsame Pressekonferenz mit Barack Obama

 Play Caption

Heute kochen wir ein niedersächsisches Gericht, und zwar eine Hochzeitssuppe.

Today we are cooking a Lower Saxon dish: namely, a wedding soup.

Captions 2-3, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Niedersachsen

 Play Caption

Secondly, zwar can be used to express limitations or contradictions. In these sentences, zwar is in the limiting first statement, which is then followed by a contradictory statement beginning with an adverb like aber, allerdings, or doch. Let's have a look:

Die Raumordnung kann zwar nicht alle Konflikte lösen, aber sie kann als eine neutrale, übergeordnete Größe vieles steuern und anstoßen.

Spatial planning may not be able to resolve all conflicts, but as a neutral, superordinate variable, it can control and initiate many things.

Captions 53-54, Bundesregierung DE: Wie geht Raumordnung?

 Play Caption

Sie darf zwar nicht so lange draußen bleiben wie die Rentiere, aber dafür kann sie alles essen, was der Boden so hergibt.

Admittedly, she's not allowed to stay outside as long as the reindeer, but instead, she can eat everything the ground may happen to yield.

Captions 33-34, Im Zoo: Tiere im Winter

 Play Caption

Das Telefon klingelt zwar ab und zu, aber meistens höre ich nichts.

The phone does ring every now and then, but most of the time I don't hear anything.

Captions 32-33, Marius Müller-Westernhagen: Der Mann auf der Mauer

 Play Caption

Köln ist zwar die Stadt mit den meisten Einwohnern, aber die Landeshauptstadt ist Düsseldorf.

Although Cologne is the city with the most inhabitants, the state capital is Düsseldorf.

Captions 19-20, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Nordrhein-Westfalen

 Play Caption

As you can see, there is not a single equivalent for this in English, but the meaning is essentially that of "although." Additionally, zwar adds emphasis to a statement.

Further Learning
Now that you have a sense of how zwar is used, try integrating it when you speak German. There are many more examples on Yabla German that you can look at as well.