If you look carefully at the words gespannt and entspannt in the sentence below, you'll notice that gespannt is a participle (of spannen), whereas entspannt is an adverb.
Dann werden die Pferde vor die Kutsche gespannt und man kann ganz entspannt durch Dahlem fahren.
Then the horses are hitched up in front of the coach and one can ride very leisurely through Dahlem.
Captions 39-40, Berlin - Domäne Dahlem - Part 1
Play Caption
However, you have probably also seen gespannt used as an adjective, and also perhaps come across spannend or verspannt. Let's take a look at some examples and clarify the meanings of all of these words.
Above, entspannt is used as an adverb to mean "leisurely" or "in a relaxed way." As an adjective it means "relaxed," or you might see it as the verb entspannen, which means — you guessed it — "to relax."
Aber es entspannt mich. -O ja.
But it relaxes me. -Oh yes.
Caption 15, Kolkhorst - Konzert
Play Caption
Und das ist sehr, sehr, sehr entspannt im Gegensatz zu München, Hamburg, Berlin.
And that's very, very, very relaxed in contrast to Munich, Hamburg, Berlin.
Caption 19, Fernsehmoderatorin - Sonya Kraus
Play Caption
Spannend is an adjective used to describe something that is "exciting," "interesting," or "intriguing."
Auf der Berlinale zu laufen ist schon wahnsinnig spannend.
Attending the Berlinale, indeed, is insanely exciting.
Caption 7, Berlinale - Schauspieler Jürgen Vogel
Play Caption
Ich finde es sehr spannend, wie viele Facetten so ein Film hat
I find it very exciting how many facets a film like this has.
Caption 48, Filmtrailer - Der kleine Rabe Socke
Play Caption
Be aware: spannend almost never describes people. It means "exciting" and NOT "excited," which is the meaning of the adjective gespannt.
Ich bin mal gespannt, wie es klappt. Ich hoffe, es gefällt euch.
I am excited to see how it will go. I hope you like it.
Caption 41, Eva Croissant - Interview - Part 2
Play Caption
Two other words you should know are angespannt and verspannt. They both translate as "tense" in a more negative sense, and often refer to the body rather than the mind.
Bauch ist leicht angespannt. Wenn wir hochkommen: ausatmen...
The belly is slightly tensed. When we come up, breathe out...
Caption 34, Workout mit Erik - Übungen für Arme, Beine, Po, Rücken
Play Caption
Genau da, wo er so verspannt ist, da muss er ziehen.
exactly where it is so tense, it has to stretch there.
Caption 32, Nackenschmerzen, steifer Nacken, steifer Hals - Übungen gegen Nackenverspannungen
Play Caption
Further Learning
Make sure that you understand all related words and can identify what part of speech they occupy in sentences using context clues. This includes the verbs spannen, sich entspannen, (sich) verspannen, and anspannen. There are many examples available on Yabla German.
Die Pflanzen blühen jetzt.
The plants are blooming now.
Caption 12, Jahreszeiten - Der Sommer
Play Caption
After an extremely cold March, Germany experienced temperatures up to 73° F / 23° C this last week. It seems that temperatures below freezing will not return for a while, so it's time for many people to get outside and work in the garden.
Sein Leben sind die Pflanzen, die er liebevoll rund um sein Häuschen hegt, und das Saatgut, das er daraus gewinnt.
His life consists of the plants that he lovingly tends around his little house and the seeds that he gets from them.
Captions 5-6, Ökobauer - Allein im Wald
Play Caption
Nitrat ist klassischer Pflanzendünger.
Nitrate is a traditional plant fertilizer.
Caption 26, Bundesregierung - Der Tomatenfisch
Play Caption
Piggeldy wollte wissen, was Unkraut ist.
Piggeldy wanted to know what a weed is.
Caption 1, Piggeldy und Frederick - Unkraut
Play Caption
People who live in the city can start planting flowers and herbs on their window sills and on their balconies.
Ich habe meine Balkonkästen mit dieser Erde gefüllt.
I filled my balcony planters with this soil.
Caption 30, Mülltrennung - in Heidelberg
Play Caption
Of course, those in the agriculture business (die Landwirtschaft) have already been at work for a while, since their planting and harvesting are hardly limited to the warm months
Und hier sehen wir, wie auf der Domäne Dahlem Landwirtschaft betrieben wird.
And here we see how farming is done at the Domain Dahlem.
Caption 23, Berlin - Domäne Dahlem - Part 1
Play Caption
Der kleine, freche Rabe Socke flitzt mit seinem Rennwagen durch den hessischen Wald, statt wie seine Freunde bei der Ernte zu helfen.
The little, impertinent raven Socke flies with his race car through the Hessian forest instead of helping with the harvest like his friends.
Captions 2-3, Filmtrailer - Der kleine Rabe Socke
Play Caption
Further Learning
Search for more vocabulary on Yabla German, or refer to websites such as this one for basic gardening terms, or this thorough list of words related to agriculture.