How do you say "I don't mind" in German? At the end of the recent lesson about the verb ausmachen, I mentioned that the verb ausmachen, combined with a dative pronoun and the negation nicht, is a way of asking if somebody "minds" something, or of stating that "you don't mind."

Ach, was soll's! Die Alten meckern ja dauernd, aber das macht mir nichts aus.

Oh, never mind! Old folks are always complaining, but I don't mind.

Captions 19-20, Es war einmal... der Weltraum Die Saurier

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The adverb meinetwegen is a curious one. It may be translated, according to the context, as "for all I care," "because of me," "as far as I'm concerned," or even just "whatever." But sometimes it's also "I don't mind":

Meinetwegen. Aber wenn du das Geld von meinem Vater hast, dann sag...

I don't mind. But if you got the money from my father, then say...

Captions 38-39, Die Pfefferkörner: Endspurt

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The phrase von mir aus may also be translated as "for all I care," "fine with me," "fine by me," or "as far as I'm concerned," but also as:

Wir wollen mit! Also gut, Jungs, von mir aus.

We want to come along! All right, boys, I don't mind.

Captions 15-16, Es war einmal... der Weltraum: Planet Omega

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The phrase nichts dagegen haben could be literally translated as "to have nothing against it," but in many contexts that is awkward. This is often a better solution:

Also, wenn du nichts dagegen hast, kann ich dieser Jackie ja mal 'nen Besuch abstatten.

So, if you don't mind, I can pay that girl Jackie a visit.

Captions 103-104, Die Pfefferkörner: Endspurt

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To summarize, the phrases nicht viel ausmachen (with a personal dative pronoun), von mir aus, nichts dagegen haben, and the adverb meinetwegen may all, depending upon the context, be translated as "don't mind."

Further Learning
Read the German Lesson Meinetwegen and von mir aus to go deeper into those terms. Then go to find some more examples on Yabla German to see other German words and phrases translated as "(I, you, we, they) don't mind."

Summer vacation has started for students in Germany! Thousands of families will be heading out for their holidays in Germany and abroad during the next weeks. We've looked at nouns for "vacation" and "holiday" in a previous lesson, but this week we'll look at verbs and nouns related to resting, relaxing, and enjoying oneself. 

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The first verb to learn is sich entspannen, which almost always translates as "to relax." For the noun "relaxation," you can use die Entspannung.

Da kann man sich richtig entspannen.

You can really relax there.

Caption 40, Es war einmal … Entdecker und Erfinder: Archimedes

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Gestern nach der Arbeit habe ich dringend Entspannung gebraucht.

Yesterday after work, I urgently needed relaxation.

Caption 17, Konjugation: Das Verb „brauchen“

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For university students, or others who have had an intense year so far, sich erholen is another reflexive verb that may be appropriate. This verb can be translated as "to rest, "to recover," and "to recuperate," and its related noun is die Erholung. University students may still have exams or papers to complete, but their summer extends through September. 

Fast scheint es, als wolle sich der Zwergtintenfisch von seinen Abenteuern erholen.

It almost appears that the bobtail squid wants to recover from its adventure.

Caption 9, Abenteuer Nordsee: Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen\

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Fehmarn bietet seinen Gästen neben Erholung und Ruhe ein Veranstaltungsprogramm.

Fehmarn offers its guests, in addition to relaxation and rest, an events program.

Caption 21, Die Insel Fehmarn: Gästeboom

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Another good verb for "to rest" is sich ausruhen. It is this verb that doctors are most likely to use when they talk about getting some rest.

Und ich kann mich dadurch noch tiefer ausruhen.

And that allows me to rest even more deeply.

Caption 33, Deutsch mit Eylin: Erkältungszeit

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Er hatte zu viel Stress. Er muss sich jetzt ausruhen.

He was under too much stress. He has to rest now.

Caption 11, Nicos Weg: Alten- und Pflegeheim

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However, if you are in good health and enjoying some time off, more relevant verbs might also be sich vergnügen, Spaß haben, or sich amüsieren. 

Und außerdem müssen sich junge Leute noch ein bisschen amüsieren.

And besides, young people still need to enjoy themselves a bit.

Caption 21, Es war einmal... der Weltraum: Die Saurier

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Further Learning
You can find lots of vocabulary related to relaxation and holidays on Yabla German. We also did a whole series on vacations not so long ago!