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Words with Mut and mutig

You may know one or both of the words in the title above: der Mut means "the courage" and mutig means "courageous" or "brave." However, there are many nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that contain these words as roots, some of which have nothing to do with courage. Let's have a look.

As you can see, nouns ending in -mut may refer to a mood, emotional state, or feeling:

 

Hochmut kommt vor dem Fall.

Pride comes before the fall. 

Caption 24, Eva erklärt - Sprichwörter

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Was bei vielen Autofahrern für Freude sorgt,

What causes happiness among many drivers,

stiftet Unmut bei den Grünen.

causes discontent among the Greens [Green Party].

Caption 19, Deutsche Autobahnen - Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzungen

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Die Queen residierte hier bereits und Michael Jackson

The Queen resided here already and Michael Jackson

hielt im Übermut sein Baby aus einem Hotelfenster.

held his baby boisterously out of a hotel window.

Captions 24-25, Berlin - Hotel Adlon feiert 15 Jahre Neueröffnung

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...in spektakulärer Anmut auf die Wasseroberfläche zu klatschen.

...to smack against the surface of the water with spectacular grace.

Caption 8, Evolution - Meeresbewohner

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Notice above that der Hochmut, der Übermut, and der Unmut are masculine, while die Anmut is feminine. You can also look up der Wagemut, der Missmutdie Sanftmut, and die Schwermut. For der Demut, you may more often see the related adjective (note the umlaut!):

 

Es war jedenfalls demütigend genug.

In any case, it was humiliating enough.

Caption 20, Lerchenberg - Das Wunder

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It's additionally good to know the adjectives ermutigend and entmutigend. These respectively mean "encouraging" and "discouraging."

When it comes to verbs, you may have seen zumuten, vermuten, and anmuten. These verbs each have a number of possible meanings.

 

Man vermutet, hier ist irgendwas in der Lüftung vom Willy-Brandt-Haus.

One suspects there is something in the ventilation here in the Willy-Brandt-Haus.

Caption 75, heute-show - Die männliche Merkel hat Erinnerungslücken

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Traditionen sind was Schönes

Traditions are something nice

und können für Nichteingeweihte mitunter ganz schön skurril anmuten.

and can occasionally appear quite bizarre to the outsider.

Captions 1-2, Barfuß unter Schafen - Schäferwettrennen

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Petrus muss Dortmund-Fan sein, anders ist kaum zu erklären,

Saint Peter must be a Dortmund fan, there's almost no other explanation

was der Himmel dem FC Bayern und seinen Fans zugemutet hat.

for what the heavens had in store for FC Bayern and its fans.

Captions 1-2, FC Bayern München - Triple-Feier im Dauerregen

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Further Learning
Look up these words using your favorite online dictionary or on Yabla German to understand the full extent of their meanings. Keep in mind that there are other nouns ending in -mut that are unrelated to emotional states, such as das Mammut or der Wermut.

Adverbs with -erweise

Adverbs give us information about time, manner, place, frequency, quantity, certainty, and degree. In English, we recognize many adverbs of manner, which tell us the way in which something happens, by the ending -ly. In German, it is often the case that adverbs are identical to their related adjectives, an example of which would be in the sentences Sie sind schnell and Sie essen schnell ("They are fast" / "They eat quickly")

There is one structure that is similar to the -ly you may know from English, which is the ending -erweise. You may remember that the noun die Weise means "the way" or "the manner." Because only certain adverbs have this ending, it is good to take note of them. For example, from the adjectives glücklich, üblich, möglichnett, and überraschend, we get the following adverbs: 

 

Glücklicherweise kam ein freundlicher Bauer vorbei.

Fortunately, a friendly farmer came by.

Caption 83, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Das hässliche Entlein

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Fremde Menschen werden üblicherweise gesiezt.

Strangers are commonly addressed formally with "Sie."

Caption 29, Cettina erklärt - Sitten und Bräuche

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In manchen Sprachen sind die Sprichwörter gleich oder ähnlich

In some languages, the sayings are the same or similar

und deshalb kommen euch möglicherweise die folgenden Beispiele schon etwas bekannt vor.

and therefore, the following examples may possibly already be somewhat known to you.

Captions 11-12, Eva erklärt - Sprichwörter

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...zusammen mit Herrn Krogmann, bei dem ich

...together with Mr. Krogmann, with whom I

netterweise im Moment wohne...

am kindly staying at the moment...

Captions 36-37, Die Pfefferkörner - Endspurt 

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Überraschenderweise ärgerten sie sich aber nicht darüber.

But surprisingly, they were not angry about it.

Caption 86, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die drei Brüder

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Further Learning
You can additionally look up dummerweise, erfreulicherweise, freundlicherweiseklugerweiserichtigerweise, normalerweise, vernünftigerweise and erstaunlicherweise, or look at this massive list of adverbs that have this structure, although not all of them may be commonly used. It's a better strategy to take note whenever you see one of these adverbs on either Yabla German or elsewhere, and start trying out sentences of your own. Remember that many adverbs will simply be identical to the adjective you already know!

All about dabei

Not to be confused with the capital city of the United Arab Emirates—that's written "Dubai" in German too, by the way—the German adverb dabei means generally "to be present" at some event, but can have many possible translations in English, depending upon the context. Let's take a look at some of the more commonly seen possibilities.

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Ich freue mich, dass ihr heute dabei seid.

I'm happy that you are here today.

Caption 2, Eva erklärt - Sprichwörter - Part 1

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In this context, the use of dabei rather than simply hier implies "here with us."

 

Ich hab' meine Lupe dabei, um die Schnecken zu sehen.

I have my magnifying glass with me to see the snails.

Caption 47, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen

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You could possibly say bei mir in this context, although bei mir also means "at my place" or "at my house."

 

Warst du gestern bei der Schlacht dabei?

Were you present at the battle yesterday?

Caption 20, Bretten - Das Peter-und-Paul-Fest - Part 3

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Der Louvre ist nicht mit dabei.

The Louvre [Museum in Paris] is not participating.

Caption 8, Kunst weltweit googeln - Galerienbesuch von zu Hause aus

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The above two examples translate dabei as "to be present" at or "to be participating" in an event.

 

Wichtig ist dabei, immer Geld zu verdienen.

It is important to always make money thereby.

Caption 51, Fluglinien - Niki Air

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The adverb dabei, when seen in its constituent parts da + bei, literally "there" + "by," forms the English adverb "thereby." Most people don't use the word "thereby" very often in everyday speech, however, and it's more common to use other equivalents. 

 

Nun spring einfach hinab und flattere und schlackere dabei.

Now just jump down and flutter and flap as you do it.

Caption 26, Piggeldy und Frederick - Lernen fliegen

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Another close equivalent to "thereby," and perhaps the most common translation in this context, is "in doing so": 

 

Dabei passieren sie die fünf Kilometer lange Zeeland-Brücke.

In doing so, they pass through the five kilometer long Zeeland Bridge.

Caption 10, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen

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The above could also have been translated: "They thereby pass through the five kilometer long Zeeland Bridge." 

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Further Learning
Go to Yabla German to find other examples of dabei used in a real-world context and see if you can find some other ways that it has been translated into English.

 

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Von großer Bedeutung

If you take a German class, you likely know the verb bedeuten from the question Was bedeutet X? This can be translated as "What does X mean?" The noun die Bedeutung, often translated as "the meaning," is used in two different contexts that you will come across on Yabla German.

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Die Bedeutung often can be translated as "the meaning," as in "the definition."

 

Versteht ihr die Bedeutung?

Do you understand the meaning?

Caption 74, Deutschkurs in Tübingen - Weil oder obwohl?

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Die richtige Bedeutung werde ich euch natürlich im Anschluss verraten.

I will, of course, reveal the correct meaning to you afterwards.

Caption 16, Eva erklärt - Sprichwörter

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However, it also just as often can be translated as "the meaning," as in "the importance" or "the significance."

 

Von internationaler Bedeutung war und ist das Wiener Musikleben.

Viennese musical life was and is of international importance.

Caption 15, Reisebericht - Wien

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Die Biodiversität ist etwas, was in ihrer [sic, seiner] Bedeutung unglaublich unterschätzt wird.

Biodiversity is something which is being unbelievably underestimated in its importance.

Caption 14, Angela Merkel - beim Nachhaltigkeitsrat

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Hat der Tag eine besondere Bedeutung für Sie?

Does the day have a special meaning for you?

Caption 40, Valentinstag - in Karlsruhe

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Further Learning
Look at other examples of die Bedeutung used on Yabla German. Identify the context in which they are being used  and notice how the word is structurally integrated into each sentence. 

Sayings with Scriptural Backgrounds

When the Old Testament was translated from clerical Latin into the common spoken languages in the 16th century, it had a profound effect on European spoken languages and literature. Many of the phrases derived from this work are so common that people are often not even aware of the source. Here are some examples of phrases with a scriptural background that German and English languages use in everyday speech.

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Und neunzehnhundertfünfundneunzig

And in nineteen ninety-five

hatte ich dann die erste Ausstellung zu diesem Thema ...

I then had the first exhibition on this theme ...

Es werde Licht“.

"Let there be light."

Captions 17-18, Malerei - Benno Treiber

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Essen kann er auch in Ruh'. Vater drückt ein Auge zu.

He can eat in peace. Father turns a blind eye.

Caption 4, Der Struwwelpeter - Ausschnitte

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Selbstverständlich, wie auf meinen eigenen Augapfel.

Of course, like the apple of my eye.

Caption 11, Abenteuer und Sport - Fallschirmspringen

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Hochmut kommt vor dem Fall.

Pride comes before the fall. [Pride goes before a fall.]

Caption 24, Eva erklärt - Sprichwörter

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Worte zu Asche und Staub zu Staub

Words to ashes and dust to dust

Caption 46, Luxuslärm - Interview

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The above is a play on the usual saying "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust."

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Further Learning
Be sure and see the latest Yabla video Eva erklärt - Sprichwörter for a selection of more German phrases on Yabla German