In last week's lesson, we looked at compound nouns that employ the noun das Zeug. But it doesn't stop there. 

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In addition to dozens of nouns with the -zeug ending, there are others that use it as a root. One common noun is das Zeugnis, which can refer to a report, a (school) certificate, or a testament/testimony. 

Das ist beim Stand der Dinge heute das älteste authentische Zeugnis für Christentum.

This is, as things stand today, the oldest authentic testimony of Christianity.

Captions 39-40, Archäologie: Der Fund der Frankfurter Silberinschrift

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The word der Zeuge or die Zeugin means "the witness." 

Ja, ich habe eine Zeugin mitgebracht, Frau Vorsitzende.

Yes, I brought along a witness, your honor.

Caption 30, Yabla Gerichtshof: Probleme des Zusammenlebens

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Other words include das Erzeugnis ("the product"), der Erzeuger / die Erzeugerin ("the producer," "the creator," "the procreator"), and das Zeughaus ("the armory").

Verbs include zeugen and erzeugen. The verb zeugen is used to describe procreation, and also for testifying or bearing evidence in a formal or abstract sense. When it comes to bearing witness or testifying to something specific, the verb bezeugen may be used. The verb erzeugen, on the other hand, is used for the production, creation, or generation of something other than humans or animals. 

Wehranlagen zeugen von der kriegerischen Vergangenheit.

Fortifications testify to its war-torn past.

Caption 13, Die Alpen von oben S1 E1: Von den Karawanken nach Graz

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Ich möchte bezeugen, dass meine Schwester mich und meine kleinen Geschwister schlecht erzogen hat.

I would like to testify that my sister raised me and my little siblings badly.

Captions 7-8, Yabla Gerichtshof: Das verzogene Hündchen

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Das heißt, man erzeugt dabei keinen Ton.

That means when you make them, you don't produce any sort of tone.

Caption 9, Deutsch mit Eylin: Ich- und Ach-Laute

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Finally, let's look at two expressions with das Zeug: was das Zeug hält and ins Zeug legen. 

Trotz vollen Terminplänen und Stress strahlt die deutsch-amerikanische Sängerin, was das Zeug hält.

Despite the full agenda and the stress, the German-American singer beams as much as possible.

Captions 4-5, Cassandra Steen Geheimnis für positive Energie

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Das ist Ansporn für den Hahn, sich erst recht ins Zeug zu legen [Redewendung].

This is an incentive for the male grouse to really put in a lot of effort.

Caption 32, Die letzten Paradiese: Die Schönheit der Alpen 1

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Further Learning
Try looking for additional examples of the verbs in use on Yabla German and building your own sentences with these two expressions. 

Or as you'd say in German: Lass uns über „lassen“ reden. The verb lassen can be translated in many different ways: "to let," "to leave," or "to have," among others. Let's take a look today at some examples, and see if we can learn how the different contexts affect the meanings and the translations of the word.

Lange klingeln lassen und dann wie gehabt verfahren.

Let it ring for longer and then proceed as usual.

Caption 38, Antilopen Gang: Enkeltrick

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Also lassen Sie mich mal nachsehen, welche Termine noch frei sind.

So let me take a look what appointments are still available.

Captions 41-42, Berufsleben: das Vorstellungsgespräch

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Ich lass dich nicht raus, ich lass dich nicht gehen.

I won't let you out, I won't let you go.

Caption 15, Ab durch die Heimat: 4 Comedians unterwegs im Südwesten

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As you see above, a common translation of lassen is "to let."

Ich kann euch versprechen, dieser Film lässt niemanden kalt.

I can promise you, this movie will leave no one unmoved.

Captions 47-48, Twinfruit: Glaubhaftigkeit in der Werbung

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Du lässt mich niemals allein.

You'll never leave me alone.

Caption 42, Sophia: Niemals Allein

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Sometimes too, lassen is translated as "to leave," but not in the sense of leaving (verlassen) a place.

König Konrad schickte Boten voraus und ließ sie in der Stadt verkünden.

King Conrad sent messengers ahead and had them make an announcement in the city.

Captions 36-37, Deutsche Sagen: Die tapferen Weiber von Weinsberg

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In cases where somebody is following orders, it wouldn't make much sense (as in the example above) to say the King "let" them make an announcement. In cases like this, you'll occasionally understand lassen as "to have."

Auch Natali will sich das nicht entgehen lassen.

Natali doesn't want to let herself miss out on this either.

Caption 50, Abenteuer Nordsee: Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen

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Often, when lassen is used in a reflexive sense with sich, it's not translated at all. In the example above, it could just as well have been translated as "Natali doesn't want to miss out on this either." In such cases, sich lassen is often redundant in translation.

... um meine neue Adresse in meinen Personalausweis eintragen zu lassen.

... to register my new address on my identity card.

Caption 3, Deutsch mit Eylin: Personalien und Namen

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Wann haben Sie sich scheiden lassen?

When did you get divorced?

Caption 17, Yabla Gerichtshof: Probleme des Zusammenlebens

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The sentences above could have been translated as "... to let my new address be registered on my identity card" and "When did you let yourself get divorced," but this seems pretty clumsy. In these cases, the better translation for sich eintragen lassen is "to register," and for sich scheiden lassen "to get divorced."

Last but not least, I'll "let" you see some example of some common idioms using the verb lassen:

Sie haben meiner Tochter schöne Augen gemacht und sie dann sitzen lassen.

You made eyes at my daughter and then abandoned her.

Caption 20, Oskar; Gehen, wenn es am schönsten ist Loslassen

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Du kannst es ja nicht lassen.

You just can't resist.

Caption 85, Alexander Hauff: Showreel

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ich will niemanden im Stich lassen.

I don't want to let anyone down.

Caption 19, Nicos Weg: Lernen

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Du kannst es nicht lassen is a bit like the English "You just couldn't leave it alone." As der Stich can mean a sting or a stab wound, the saying im Stich lassen, which first appeared in the 1400s, may be related to jousting: if someone left a comrade behind, they risked being stabbed! Luckily, we live in a society today where such violence is socially and legally unacceptable.

Further Learning
Search for lassen in its various conjugations on Yabla German to see the verb used in different contexts. You may also want to read more about it in the previous Yabla lesson "German verbs connected with lassen."