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. 

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Further Learning

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

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.

While studying German, you have probably confronted both sitzen and setzen. Generally, the verb sitzen is quite straightforward in simply meaning "to sit," or more specifically "to be sitting." The reflexive verb sich setzen is also translated as "to sit" but refers to the action of sitting down (there is also the verb sich hinsetzen which can be more or less a synonym). 

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Wir sitzen hier am Strand in der Nähe von Todos Santos und sind am Meer.

We are sitting here on the beach near Todos Santos and are by the sea.

Caption 3, Anna - Am Strand in Mexiko

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Wo setzen wir uns denn hin? -Setzen wir uns da drüben hin. -OK.

Where should we seat ourselves then? -Let's sit over there. -OK.

Caption 1, Fernsehmoderatorin - Sonya Kraus

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To remember the distinction, it is perhaps helpful to consider that setzen as a non-reflexive verbs means "to put," "to place," or "to set." 

Die helfen mir, noch leichter Ziele zu setzen.

They help me to set goals even more easily.

Caption 15, Gamification - Wie Spielen den Alltag interessanter macht - Part 2

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Setzen is also the root of a multitude of verbs. Take a look at the following examples with einsetzen ("to use," "to implement"), absetzen (which is used in many contexts, from "to deduct" something for your taxes to "to remove" a pair of glasses), and besetzen ("to occupy").

Früher hat man mehr als zwei-, dreitausend Liter eingesetzt für einen Wohnungsbrand.

In the past they used more than two or three thousand liters for an apartment fire.

Caption 88, Feuerwehr Heidelberg - Löschfahrzeug - Part 1

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Den Helm hatte er abgesetzt, weil's so heiß war.

He'd taken off the helmet because it was so hot.

Caption 53, Großstadtrevier - Von Monstern und Mördern - Part 9

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Man sollte keine Plätze besetzen mit Taschen oder mit Jacken, damit andere Gäste sich hinsetzen können.

You shouldn't occupy seats with bags or with jackets so that other guests can sit down.

Captions 33-34, Unterwegs mit Cettina - Bahn fahren

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BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Further Learning
Here is a list of verbs with setzen as their root for your perusal. Look for examples of some of these verbs, such as aufsetzen, durchsetzen, or umsetzen, on Yabla German. Try to searching for their participles as well!