In German, the nouns die Lage and die Stelle each have a few different meanings. First of all, die Lage can quite literally mean "the location," and die Stelle can be translated as "the position":
Sehr ruhige Lage, Bauernhöfe in der Nähe...
Very quiet location, farms nearby...
Caption 13, Nicos Weg: Auf Wohnungssuche
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Durch die Lage ist es häufig warm, und Weinreben können gut gedeihen, besonders am Kaiserstuhl.
Due to the location it is often warm and vines can thrive, especially in the Kaiserstuhl.
Caption 24, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Baden-Württemberg
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Als er sich umsah, merkte er allerdings, dass er an einer völlig unerwarteten Stelle gelandet war.
When he looked around, however, he noticed that he had landed in a completely unexpected place.
Captions 30-31, Die Raumsonde: Rosetta Kometenlandung
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Die Lage can also mean "the situation," or "how things stand."
Die Lage wird langsam hoffnungslos.
The situation is slowly becoming hopeless.
Caption 39, Es war einmal... der Mensch: Der Neandertaler
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Ich bin Alina und heute berichte ich über die Corona-Lage in Frankreich.
I'm Alina, and today I'm going to report on the coronavirus situation in France.
Caption 3, Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten: Corona im Nachbarland Frankreich
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The common construction in der Lage sein means to be in a position where something is possible, or simply "to be able to"/"can."
Angenommen, unser Budget lässt es zu, sollten wir am Ende der Woche in der Lage sein, Ihnen die unterzeichneten Verträge zukommen zu lassen.
Assuming that our budget allows it, we should be in the position by the end of the week to send you the signed contracts.
Captions 56-58, Berufsleben: Probleme mit Mitarbeitern
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Seelöwen sind nämlich in der Lage, im Wasser zu schlafen.
Because sea lions are able to sleep in the water.
Captions 70-71, Evolution: Die Küsten
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The noun die Stelle also has the very common meaning of "the position," as in "the job."
Eine Frau, die ein zweijähriges Kind hat, bewirbt sich in Deutschland um eine Stelle.
A woman who has a two-year-old child applies for a job in Germany.
Caption 37, Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Einbürgerungstest
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With die Stelle, there are two common phrases to know. While an dieser Stelle is quite easily translated as "at this point," an deiner/Ihrer/ihrer/seiner Stelle is used to reflect on someone else's position and subsequent actions. It is perhaps not so different from "If I were you..." in English.
Und das hätte ich an deiner Stelle auch gesagt.
And I would've said that too in your position.
Caption 33, AnnenMayKantereit: Es geht mir gut
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And finally, when something occurs auf der Stelle, this means that it happens "immediately" or "then and there."
Auf der Stelle fielen die Besenstiele zu Boden und die Teppiche gehorchten.
Immediately, the broomsticks fell to the floor and the rugs obeyed.
Caption 76, Märchen: Sagenhaft Der Zauberlehrling
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Further Learning
There are many examples of die Lage and die Stelle in use on Yabla German, just do a quick search!
The adverbs ansonsten and sonst in German are most often found in contexts where they can be translated as "else" or "otherwise." You will find that they are generally quite interchangeable, though sonst has a wider range of applications and is used more often in casual conversation.
Ich kann zwar ein wenig Eislaufen,
I can ice-skate a little bit,
aber ansonsten bin ich auch da eher Zuschauer
but otherwise I'm also more likely the viewer
vorm Fernseher ...
in front of the television...
Caption 46, Deutsche Sporthilfe - Ball des Sports
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Ansonsten finde ich Schauspielerei wahnsinnig interessant.
Otherwise, I find acting incredibly interesting.
Caption 56, Bürger Lars Dietrich - Schlecht Englisch kann ich gut
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Hier werden sie Tieren begegnen,
Here they will encounter animals
die sonst nirgendwo in der Deutschen Bucht leben.
that live nowhere else in the German Bight.
Caption 20, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen
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Brauchst du sonst noch irgendwas? Duschgel oder so?
Do you need anything else? Shower gel or something?
Caption 33, Die Wohngemeinschaft - Besuch
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Und sonst so? Was geht heute Abend?
And otherwise? What's going on tonight?
Caption 22, AnnenMayKantereit - Es geht mir gut
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The last sentence is an example in which ansonsten would sound quite odd due to the colloquial nature of the sentence.
More importantly, you don't want to confuse ansonsten and sonst with the adjective umsonst, which can mean "for free," "for nothing," or "without reason," depending on the context. Take a look:
Dass Sie nicht denken, dass in Berlin dann alles umsonst ist.
So that you don't think that in Berlin then everything is free.
Caption 41, Jonathan Johnson - Nahöstliches Essen in Berlin
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Der Freizeitpark heißt nicht umsonst Europa-Park.
The theme park is not called Europa-Park without reason.
Caption 19, Deutsche Welle - Hin und weg - Best of Europa-Park!
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Du bist für mich geboren, ich lebe nicht umsonst
You were born for me, I'm not living for nothing
Caption 4, Marius Müller-Westernhagen - Weil Ich Dich Liebe
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Further Learning
Along with umsonst, you can learn about other adjectives that are used to describe how expensive or cheap something is in this previous newsletter. There are many more examples of ansonsten and sonst used in sentences on Yabla German — just do a search on the homepage!