You're probably already familiar with using natürlich as an adverb to say "of course." It's also occasionally translated as "naturally" or "obviously," depending upon the context.

The adverb selbstverständlich is also often translated as "of course," especially at the beginning of sentences:

Selbstverständlich, aber nicht so gewaltig.

Of course, but not too terribly much.

Caption 12, Silvester Vorsätze für das neue Jahr: Linkenheim

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Selbstverständlich, however, has more finely nuanced usages than natürlich. Let's take a look at a variety of translation possibilities available in this useful adverb. Something that is selbstverständlich is also "a matter of course":

Für viele von Ihnen ist das Mitmachen ganz selbstverständlich und wichtig.

For many of you, taking part is very much a matter of course and important.

Caption 31, Angela Merkel: Neujahrsansprache

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And may be "taken for granted":

Uns allen fehlen die Begegnungen, die sonst selbstverständlich sind.

We are all missing the interactions that are otherwise taken for granted.

Caption 10, Coronavirus: Fernsehansprache von Angela Merkel

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Selbstverständlich may also "go without saying":

Nun ja, sehen Sie, das ist doch ganz selbstverständlich.

Well, you see, that goes without saying.

Caption 66, Der kleine Nick: Nachmittag bei Adalbert

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Or simply "be a given":

Hier in Deutschland zum Beispiel ist es vielleicht schon selbstverständlich.

Here in Germany, for example, it may already be a given.

Caption 62, Rat für nachhaltige Entwicklung Mode gegen Armut

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And sometimes, it's "anything but self-evident":
 

Diese Bilder sind alles andere als selbstverständlich.

These pictures are anything but self-evident.

Caption 1, Abenteuer Nordsee: Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen

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Note that the noun version of selbstverständlich, das Selbstverständnis, has a somewhat different meaning: "self-image":

Im Selbstverständnis der Strothoff International School Rhein-Main wird viel Wert auf eine enge Lehrer-Schüler-Beziehung und den respektvollen Umgang miteinander gelegt.

In its self-image, the Strothoff International School Rhein-Main highly values a close teacher-student relationship and a reciprocal respect.

Captions 50-51, Strothoff International School Imagefilm

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Further Learning
Do a search for selbstverständlich on Yabla German to see the adverb used in a variety of different contexts. Its usages are not always so selbstverständlich!

In Part I and Part II of this series, we went through a lot of odd German animal names, looking at how the names may—or may not—connect directly to descriptions of the animals. Today, let's conclude our exploration of the wild and woolly world of odd German animal names!

Entschuldige, dass ich dich „Seehund“ genannt habe.

Sorry that I called you "sea dog."

Caption 26, Peppa Wutz, Sport

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The proper English name of the largest rodent in the world is "capybara," and it's formally das Capybara in German. The informal name of the capybara is "water hog," which is also the direct translation of the informal name in German: das Wasserschwein.

Wer ist das größte Wasserschwein auf dem Planeten?

Who is the biggest water hog on the planet?

Caption 98, heute-show Wasserknappheit: Verkauft eure Aktien und investiert in Wasser!

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This is a slang usage of das Wasserschwein, and is not referring to the animal at all! Just as you might tell somebody who is drinking up all of the water to "stop hogging the water," this video is referring to a Swiss company that is exploiting a lot of American water resources as a "water hog."

Schweinswale sollen direkt vor dem Badestrand gesehen worden sein.

Porpoises were reported to have been seen near this swimming beach.

Caption 32, Abenteuer Nordsee: Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen

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The German word for "porpoise" is der Schweinswal, which translates directly to "hog whale" or "pig whale." That doesn't seem to make much sense, but the fact that they have a flat snout, unlike dolphins with their pronounced beaks, may have led to a comparison with pigs in German. And dolphins are in fact classified as toothed whales, although their nearest relative, going back 40 million years, is the hippopotamus!

Some other German animal names with -schwein include:
—das Meerschweinchen (Guinea pig, literally "little sea pig")
—das Seeschwein (dugong, literally "sea hog" or "sea pig")
—das Stachelschwein (porcupine, literally "spike pig")

But the winner for the title of the oddest German animal name must be...

„Eichhörnchen jubilieren nicht“, stellte Frederick richtig, „sie knacken Nüsse, Tannenzapfen, Eicheln und so weiter.“

"Squirrels do not rejoice," rectified Frederick, "they crack nuts, pine cones, acorns and such."

Captions 14-15, Piggeldy und Frederick: Tiere im Winter

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If you translate das Eichhörnchen literally from die Eiche and das Hörnchen, you wind up with either "little oak horn" or "oak croissant"! In fact, the origins of the word Eichhörnchen are uncertain, but the Eiche part probably goes back to an ancient Indo-Germanic word, aik or aig, that means "restless movement," which is certainly an apt description of the squirrel! German squirrels also have tufted ears that look a bit like little horns...

Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and watch the videos listed above to find out more about these animals in context.