All about auswärts

You are probably familiar with the name of the German governmental department responsible for relations with foreign countries: das Auswärtige Amt. This is the German equivalent of the Department of State in the United States or the Foreign Office in the United Kingdom. The adverb auswärts, however, is often used in sports: 

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Und wir fangen noch auswärts an...

And we are still starting with an away game...

Caption 49, Basketball - Deutsche Bank Skyliners

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A literal translation of the above would render auswärts as only "away," but for clarity it's been translated for meaning as "an away game." In the next captions, you see the word as part of some nominalizations:

 

In dieser Saison gab es beim zweimaligen Aufeinandertreffen für beide Seiten einen Auswärtssieg.

In this season there was, during the two-time clash, an away victory for both sides.

Captions 40-41, Basketball - Deutsche Bank Skyliners

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In der vergangenen Auswärtspartie durfte der US-Amerikaner schon 'ran.

In the last away game, the American could already participate.

Caption 7, Deutsche Bank Skyliners - Basketball-Bundesliga

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Typisch Auswärtsmannschaft.

Typical away team.

Caption 32, Großstadtrevier - St. Pauli rettet HSV - Part 9

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The adverb auswärts has some practical usages outside of sports, however! Let's take a look at some examples as shown on the German dictionary site Duden

 

Lass uns doch auswärts essen!
But let's eat out

 

Or optionally:

 

Lass uns doch auswärts essen gehen!
But let's go out to eat! 

 

This is a very good one to know when you're tired of cooking and washing dishes at home!

 

Viele Schulkinder kommen von auswärts.
Many schoolchildren come from elsewhere.

 

This usage of auswärts means von einem anderen Ort or "from another place."

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and take a look at some of the links above to see how auswärts is used in a real-world context.

Expressions with Weg and Weise

This week we'll look at the German translations for English expressions using the word "way." 

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Both "on my way" (also with "your" or any other possessive adjective) and "on the way" are translated as auf dem Weg in German.

 

Ich bin auf dem Weg und jetzt geh' ich unter das Tor.

I'm on the way and now I'll go under the gate.

Caption 34, Diane erklärt - Präpositionen

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This can also be used figuratively as well, as it is in English: 

 

Dann gibt es nur noch eine kleine Hürde auf dem Weg zu Ihrem Traumjob.

Then there is still only one small hurdle on the way to your dream job.

Caption 16, Bundestagswahl – Stellenanzeige - Bundeskanzler gesucht

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The same goes for something standing or being "in the way":

 

Und dem soll auch vorerst nichts im Wege stehen.

And for now nothing should stand in the way of that.

Caption 15, Rhein-Main-TV aktuell - Der Frühling ist da

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Dann kann der aufsteigenden Künstlerin ja nichts mehr im Wege stehen.

Then, indeed, nothing can stand in the way any longer of this rising artist.

Caption 33, Singer-Songwriterin Elif - Eine Achterbahn der Gefühle

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The expression unterwegs means "on the way," "traveling" / "in transit" or "on the go."

 

„Wann sehen wir endlich die Faulheit?“, fragte Piggeldy unterwegs.

"When will we finally see the laziness?" Piggeldy asked on the way.

Caption 7, Piggeldy und Frederick - Faulheit

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Sie waren den ganzen Tag unterwegs gewesen und es wurde dunkel...

They had been travelling the whole day, and it grew dark...

Caption 36, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten

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Eva Padberg ist als Model viel unterwegs.

Eva Padberg is, as a model, on the go a lot.

Caption 1, Rhein-Main-TV - Eva Padberg beim Weihnachtseinkauf

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When we talk about a way of doing something or the way something happened, we use the words die Art, die Weise, or the expression die Art und Weise.

 

Doch im dritten Viertel wendete sich das Blatt in kaum vorstellbarer Weise.

Indeed, in the third quarter the page [the tables] turned in an almost unimaginable way.

Caption 23, Deutsche Bank Skyliners - Basketball-Bundesliga

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Und das tun die Tiere im Frankfurter Zoo auf ganz unterschiedliche Art und Weise.

And the animals at the Frankfurt Zoo do this in very different ways.

Caption 15, Umfragen - Zootiere im Winter

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There are a couple of different ways to express "either way," such as in beiden Fällen or so oder so. 

 

So oder so, wir werden dann auf alle Fälle mit Ihnen Kontakt aufnehmen.

Either way, we will in any event get in touch with you.

Caption 68, Berufsleben - das Vorstellungsgespräch

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BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Further Learning
Try integrating these phrases in your daily language practice. If you need more examples, do a search on Yabla German.