How do we emphasize the urgency of a situation or immediacy of an event? How can we reassure someone that something will be taken care of right away?
The adverb gleich is used a lot and has many possible translations in this context. You might be thinking about it as an adjective meaning "same" or "alike," and we also have a lesson on that topic. But here we are looking at how it is used to define something as happening "in just a minute," "immediately," or "momentarily."
Gut, vielen Dank. Ich mache mich gleich auf den Weg.
Good, many thanks. I'll be on my way immediately.
Caption 14, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern
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Warum hab ich das nicht gleich erkannt?
Why didn't I realize that right away?
Caption 80, Die Pfefferkörner - Endspurt - Part 12
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Ja, Moment, ich habe es gleich.
Yes, one moment, I'll have it momentarily.
Caption 30, Der Merkelpilot - der kleine Mann, der es macht
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There is another way to say that something will happen "any minute now," and it's very similar to how it's said in English:
Aber der Reparaturdienst müsste jede Minute da sein.
But the repair service should be here any minute.
Caption 8, Die Pfefferkörner - Endspurt - Part 18
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Another adverb to know is sofort, which is even more urgent than gleich, and is pretty much always translated as "at once," "right away," or "immediately."
Kein Problem, Frau Schmidt. Ich werde es Ihnen sofort schicken.
No problem, Ms. Schmidt. I will send it to you immediately.
Caption 67, Berufsleben - das Vorstellungsgespräch
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Sie ist sofort abgehauen, als Frau Lenz die Sache angesprochen hat.
She immediately took off when Ms. Lenz raised the matter.
Caption 65, Die Pfefferkörner - Endspurt - Part 2
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In more formal contexts, you may hear unverzüglich ("without delay") and umgehend.
Er muss unverzüglich Waffenstillstandsverhandlungen mit Eisenhower und Montgomery aufnehmen.
He must immediately begin armistice negotiations with Eisenhower and Montgomery.
Caption 81, Die Stunde der Offiziere - Dokudrama über den 20. Juli 1944
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Oder noch besser, komm umgehend ins Kontor.
Or better yet, come to the office immediately.
Caption 65, Die Pfefferkörner - Alles auf Anfang
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Although unmittelbar is also translated as "immediate," it is often related to space rather than time:
Wir sind, äh, hab ich schon gesagt,
We are, uh — as I've already said —
in unmittelbarer Nähe, äh, von Saarbrücken.
in the immediate vicinity, uh, of Saarbrücken.
Captions 37-38, Nachbarn - Andrea aus Forbach
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Daher ordne ich an, dass Sie unmittelbar wieder die Ehe schließen.
Therefore I order you to remarry immediately.
Captions 34-35, Yabla Gerichtshof - Probleme des Zusammenlebens
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For urgency, there is the word dringend, which like many German words functions as both an adjective and an adverb depending on how it's integrated in the sentence:
Ich brauche dich hier dringend im Innendienst.
I need you urgently here in the office.
Caption 63, Großstadtrevier - Von Monstern und Mördern
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Further Learning
You will find many examples of these words used on Yabla German. In particular, keep an eye on how the translation of gleich changes depending on the context.
The way to say "apart from" something, an expression that is helpful when you want to make a specific point about a topic in a conversation, is the phrase abgesehen von (etwas).
The problem for English speakers with learning this is that the phrase is based upon a verb, absehen, which is confusing when used in the "apart from" context, since it is usually translated as "to foresee" or sometimes as "to predict":
Ja, man konnte es absehen.
Yes, you could foresee it.
Caption 57, Rhein-Main-TV - Interview mit Edmund Stössel
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Even the adverbial form, absehbar, is usually translated as "foreseeable" or sometimes "predictable":
...dass es sich in absehbarer Zeit ins Gegenteil verkehrt.
...that in the foreseeable future, it will move in the opposite direction.
Caption 26, Olympiade in Deutschland - Nicht um jeden Preis
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Deswegen war absehbar: Das wird nicht auf ewig so sein, diese Doppelbelastung.
Therefore, it was foreseeable that it wouldn't last forever, this double load.
Caption 54, Rhein-Main-TV - Interview mit Edmund Stössel
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The phrase abgesehen von (etwas), however, does not mean that something can be foreseen, but rather:
Abgesehen von neugierigen Bootstouristen sind sie dort relativ ungestört.
Apart from the curious tourists on boats, they are relatively undisturbed there.
Caption 12, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen
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Schlüters Entscheidungsunfähigkeit passt perfekt zur Merkel,
Schlüter's inability to make decisions fits perfectly with Merkel,
von kleineren Problemen abgesehen.
apart from a few small problems.
Captions 14-15, Der Merkelpilot - der kleine Mann, der es macht
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Aber abgesehen von kleinen Anlaufschwierigkeiten schienen die Tiere schon sehr zufrieden.
But apart from minor initial difficulties, the animals seemed to be quite content.
Caption 16, Für Tierfreunde - Przewalski-Wildpferde
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If the subject of your point has already been mentioned, you can also say abgesehen davon:
Abgesehen davon ist Vielfalt bei der Ernährung immer eine gute Sache.
Apart from this, variety in [one's] diet is always a good thing.
Caption 46, Kochhaus Berlin - Kochen mit Kindern
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Mal ganz abgesehen davon, dass wir natürlich kleine Schülerzahlen haben.
Quite apart from that, the fact that we have, of course, a small number of students.
Caption 65, Strothoff International School - Interview mit dem Rektor
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Mal abgesehen davon, dass wir dann gar nicht da wären,
Apart from that, we then wouldn't be here at all
wäre es dunkel auf der Erde... dunkel und kalt.
if it were dark on Earth... dark and cold.
Captions 2-3, Unser Universum - Die Sonne
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Further Learning
Apart from abgesehen von, can you think of any other ways to express "besides" or "other than?" Hint: search on Yabla German for similar expressions that use the prepositions außer, sonst, neben, außerdem, and the expression darüber hinaus.
At Yabla, we like to write out words in their entirety (for instance, 2016 is zweitausendsechzehn) in our video captions so that you can learn them better. But you may also come across abbreviations and acronyms in German articles that you are reading, so it's not a bad idea to catch up on some of the more common ones. (An acronym is an abbreviation too, but it's used in speaking.) You won't find many actual abbreviations in Yabla videos since they aren't usually spoken, but there are plenty of examples where words or phrases would be abbreviated if they were in standard written form!
Unterschrift, Stempel und so weiter und so weiter, ne?
Signature, stamp, and so on and so forth, right?
Caption 23, Großstadtrevier - Von Monstern und Mördern
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One of the most common abbreviations of all is usw., which is short for und so weiter, and pretty much interchangeable (even in German) with "etc."
Merkel hat noch TÜV [Technischer Überwachungsverein]
Merkel still has a TÜV [technical inspection organization certificate]
bis zweitausenddreizehn.
that's valid until two thousand thirteen.
Captions 32-33, Der Merkelpilot - der kleine Mann, der es macht
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If your car won't pass the TÜV (an acronym, with the "Ü" pronounced like the "oo" in "foot") inspection in Germany, you'd better get it fixed or get rid of it, because you can't drive it on the street without the certificate from the Technical Inspection Organization or Technischer Überwachungs-Verein. This non-profit organization (eingetragener Verein or e. V.), responsible for overseeing technical inspection procedures in Germany, even owns a registered trademark on the term. Hopefully Chancellor Merkel will get her TÜV approved this year!
Wir sind sehr zuversichtlich beziehungsweise sehr froh auch.
We are very confident, or rather, very happy too.
Caption 26, Strothoff International School - Interview mit dem Rektor
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The word beziehungsweise is often shortened to bzw. in informal writing, and is one of the most commonly abbreviated German words. It's also a very effective word that has no single-word equivalent in English, meaning "and/or" all in a single word. It's a bit tricky to translate because "and/or" is just not an elegant solution, so it's often translated as "respectively" or "alternately."
The undisputed champion of German acronyms, however, must be "for example":
Hier haben wir zum Beispiel Rohkaffee aus Kolumbien.
Here we have, for example, raw coffee from Colombia.
Caption 8, Kaffee - Noch von Hand gemacht
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"For example" or zum Beispiel takes the acronym z. B., and this being German, don't forget to capitalize the "B" even in its short form!
Further Learning
Take a look at this list of common German abbreviations and go to German Yabla to find some of the words and phrases used in context.
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