The nouns der Grad and das Grad in German and "the degree" in English have several overlapping and context-dependent meanings.
First of all, we generally use das Grad to talk about temperatures. Below you can see it used with both a more formal noun (betragen) and a more simple phrase with sein. In some contexts, the verb haben can also be used.
Dort beträgt die Temperatur konstant vier Grad Celsius.
The temperature there is a constant four degrees Celsius.
Caption 28, Expeditionen ins Tierreich: Die Feldberger Seen
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Es sind dreißig Grad und du möchtest auf Deutsch sagen, dass dir warm ist.
It's thirty degrees [Celsius] and you want to say in German that you feel warm.
Captions 13-15, Deutsch mit Giada: Typische Missverständnisse auf Deutsch
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In den Tiefen des Schmalen Luzin hat das Wasser noch eine Temperatur von vier Grad Celsius.
In the depths of the Schmaler Luzin lake, the water still has a temperature of four degrees Celsius.
Captions 22-23, Expeditionen ins Tierreich: Die Feldberger Seen
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Then, of course, degrees are a unit of measurement for angles in geometry, and this holds true in German as well.
Wenn Gabel und Messer in zirka dreißig Grad voneinander liegen, bedeutet das, dass man grade eine kleine Essenspause macht.
When the fork and knife are about thirty degrees apart, it means that you're taking a little break from eating.
Captions 38-39, Deutsch mit Eylin: Tischsitten
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Neu ist auch der Traumzeit-Dome, ein multimediales Dreihundertsechzig-Grad-Kino.
The Dreamtime Dome is also new— a multimedia three-hundred-and-sixty-degree cinema.
Captions 16-17, Deutsche Welle: Hin und weg Best of Europa-Park!
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In German, der Grad also can refer to an academic degree (ein akademischer Grad). But there are a few other ways of talking about this that are more common: der Titel and der Abschluss.
Und Sie tun hier so, als hätten Sie einen Doktortitel?
And you are pretending to have a doctorate here?
Caption 20, Das Lügenbüro: Die Bewerbung
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Mein spanischer Abschluss ist anerkannt worden.
My qualification from Spain has been accepted.
Caption 21, Nicos Weg: Weiterbildung
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Finally, der Grad can also describe extent or intensity, the degree to which something occurs or is the case.
Omikron ist nicht nur deutlich ansteckender als Delta, sondern umgeht bis zu einem bestimmten Grad den Impfschutz.
Omicron is not only significantly more contagious than Delta, but bypasses vaccine protection to a certain degree.
Captions 22-23, Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten: Corona-Varianten mit Alina
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Further Learning
Look for more examples with der Grad and das Grad, being careful to not be confused by the word grad with a lowercase g. This is the colloquial form of the adverb gerade and found in abundance on Yabla German.
One of the first phrases you learned in German was likely similar to the following:
Hallo, mein Name ist Julia und ich komme aus Düsseldorf.
Hello, my name is Julia and I'm from Dusseldorf.
Caption 1, Die Wohngemeinschaft: Besuch
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Several German prepositions can be translated as "from," but when talking about the permanent fact of your country of origin or hometown, you will always use aus.
There are instances, however, where von is used with the verb kommen to reference location. One is when you are talking about getting from place to place:
Aber wie komme ich von Deutschland nach England oder Schottland?
But how do I get from Germany to England or Scotland?
Caption 16, Jenny: Reiseziele
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Wie komme ich von Stuttgart zum Europapark?
How do I get from Stuttgart to Europapark?
Caption 12, Reiseplanung: Anruf bei einem Reisebüro
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Kannst du mir bitte den Weg erklären, wie ich von hier aus am besten zur Stadthalle komme?
Can you please explain to me the way to get to City Hall most easily from here?
Captions 31-32, Melanie und Thomas: treffen sich
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In these sentences, von is paired with the appropriate preposition for the place that follows.
Another instance in which the preposition von is used is when a person has just been somewhere and expresses that they have come directly from that location.
Ich komme gerade von der Agentur für Arbeit.
I have just come from the employment agency.
Caption 19, Nicos Weg: Weiterbildung
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One thing to be aware of is that there are also two separable verbs, davonkommen and auskommen, which have distinct meanings. In this case, what looks like a preposition is actually part of the verb.
Ich weiß gar nicht, wie die Menschen früher ohne Kreditkarte ausgekommen sind.
I have no idea how people got by before without credit cards.
Caption 18, Kein Kredit: im Land der Klone
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Das heißt, so ein Verleumder kommt einfach ungeschoren davon?
That means such a slanderer easily comes away unscathed?
Caption 22, Die Pfefferkörner: Gerüchteküche
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Further Learning
After looking at these examples from Yabla German, create your own sentences or questions (one of each type!) to practice saying out loud.