The relationship people have with work evolves throughout their lives, and our relationship with work as a society is also currently seeing some changes.
First of all, there is the type of employment: full-time or part-time? Employed, self-employed, or freelance?
Die meisten Leute, die bei einem Arbeitgeber angestellt sind, werden für diese Arbeit am Ende des Monats bezahlt.
Most people who are employed by an employer are paid for this work at the end of the month.
Captions 4-5, Eva erklärt: Bankkonten
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Und bin selbstständig und habe also diese Probleme nicht mehr.
And I'm self-employed and don't have these problems anymore.
Caption 43, TUDYKA: Interview mit Uschi
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Für die Wirtschaft, die großen Unternehmen genau wie die kleinen Betriebe, für Geschäfte, Restaurants, Freiberufler . . .
For the economy, for large companies as well as small businesses, for shops, restaurants, freelancers ...
Captions 44-45, Coronavirus: Fernsehansprache von Angela Merkel
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Wollen Sie Teilzeit oder Vollzeit arbeiten?
Do you want to work part-time or full-time?
Caption 20, Nicos Weg: Bewerbungsgespräch
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People work in offices, factories, institutions, businesses, and any number of other places. And of course, we can't forget working from home, the word for which has been adopted into the German language.
Nun, wenn Sie morgen früh um neun Uhr ins Büro kommen könnten, können wir Sie direkt einarbeiten.
So, if you come to the office tomorrow at nine a.m., we can train you right away.
Captions 29-30, Berufsleben: das Vorstellungsgespräch
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Ich arbeite fünfzehn Stunden in der Woche und, äh, habe auch ein Homeoffice.
I work fifteen hours a week and, uh, have a home office too.
Caption 13, Finanzassistentin: Sarah interviewt Cettina
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In German, you can talk about der Job, die Arbeit, die Stelle, der Beruf, or die Karriere. These words may reflect different levels of dedication and permanence.
Mein eigentlicher Beruf ist Buchhändlerin, aber seit ich in Berlin lebe, arbeite ich als Kellnerin und Barista in Cafés.
My actual occupation is book dealer, but since I've lived in Berlin, I've worked as a waitress and barista in cafés.
Captions 15-16, Berlin: Judith und die „Brezel Bar“
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Further Learning
How would you describe your job or the career of someone you know? Find the right words in examples from Yabla German and then write up a few sentences of your own.
In a previous Yabla lesson, we discussed the differences between the verbs anheben and aufheben. These separable verbs also look very similar and have meanings related to the base verb heben, which is usually translated as "to lift," or "to raise," and is the Germanic root of the English verb "to heave."
The verb abheben is usually heard in the context of taking out money from a bank machine or bank account:
Dann erhält man so eine Geldkarte beziehungsweise eine Bankkarte.
Then you receive a debit card or respectively a bank card.
Mit dieser kann man Geld abheben.
With this, you can withdraw money.
Captions 25-26, Eva erklärt - Bankkonten
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Na, wahrscheinlich haben Sie Ihren Kreditrahmen überzogen.
Well, you have probably exceeded your credit limit.
-Ja, zu viel abgehoben.
-Yes, withdrew too much.
Captions 32-33, Weihnachtsfilm - Ein Sack voll Geld
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But abheben is also sometimes heard in the context of an airplane taking off or a rocket launching:
Und dann heben wir schon ab.
And then we take off already.
Caption 43, Ultraleicht-Flieger - Der Gyrocopter
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Völlig abgehoben, keine Schwerkraft mehr
Completely lifted off, no more gravity
Caption 17, Helene Fischer - Achterbahn
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On the other hand, hochheben is used in quite different contexts:
Wenn jeder den Deckel hochhebt, dann verdampft doch alles.
If every person lifts the lid, then everything will evaporate, after all.
Caption 33, Marga Engel schlägt zurück - Die neue Köchin
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Die Frau hob das schwere Paket mit einer Hand hoch.
The woman lifted up the heavy package with one hand.
Friedrich hob die Arme hoch.
Friedrich raised up his arms.
Both meanings of abheben are very common, as abheben is both a transitive verb (etwas abheben, which requires an object, usually meaning "to withdraw money") and an intransitive verb ("to take off," which does not allow for an object). Then there is the transitive verb hochheben, which means "to lift or raise something up."
Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and see the two verbs used in different contexts, and go to the Duden dictionary to read the full definitions of abheben and hochheben, noting the ways that the verbs can be conjugated.
Have you ever noticed that the adverb persönlich in German has three possible translations in English? Let's take a look.
As you would expect, it can mean "personally":
Mir ist es persönlich 'ne Herzensangelegenheit.
For me personally, it's a matter that's near and dear to my heart.
Caption 12, Berlin - Hotel Adlon feiert 15 Jahre Neueröffnung
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Sometimes it has more or less this meaning, but is better translated as "he himself" or "she herself":
Nein, er hat tatsächlich auf meinem, äh, Telefonapparat angerufen. -Persönlich?
No, he actually called me on my, uh, telephone. -Himself?
Caption 6, 3nach9 - Ehrlich Brothers - Show-Magier - Part 1
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Reisen, vielleicht sogar mit Niki Lauda persönlich als Piloten [sic, Pilot]
Traveling, perhaps even with Niki Lauda himself as pilot
– ab Frankfurt ist das möglich, dreimal täglich, morgens, mittags und abends.
— it's possible from Frankfurt three times a day, in the morning, at midday and in the evening.
Captions 58-59, Fluglinien - Niki Air
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You may also sometimes see the word höchstpersönlich, which can be used to emphasize that a task or appearance won't be delegated to another person.
However, persönlich can also mean "in person":
War ja... Wir haben... wir haben ihn zum ersten Mal auch persönlich kennenlernen dürfen.
It was indeed... We were... we were also allowed to meet him in person for the first time.
Caption 32, 3nach9 - Ehrlich Brothers - Show-Magier - Part 2
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Das kann man entweder persönlich tun in einer Filiale oder online.
You can do that either in person at a branch or online.
Caption 14, Eva erklärt - Bankkonten
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One thing to remember: persönlich does not mean "personable"! This would be sympathisch or freundlich.
Further Learning
Search for more examples on Yabla German and try out a few sentences of your own in which you use persönlich to talk about your personal experiences, preferences, and opinions, or to talk about something you will do yourself or in person.
There are a couple of different verbs that translate as "to open" in German, in particular the two above, which can cause some confusion. When do we use eröffnen and when do we use öffnen?
Consider this: The verb eröffnen can be translated not only as "to open," but also as "to institute,” "to establish," “to inaugurate,” or even "to commence" or "to disclose." You will see eröffnen used in connection with non-physical entities, or anything that could also be described using these other translations, such as a museum or a shop. The reading of a person's will in German is die Testamentseröffnung, and as you see in the third sentence below, the verb eröffnen is even used to describe congressional proceedings.
Zweitausendsechs hat das Museum eröffnet,
The museum opened in two thousand six,
inzwischen stehen hier mehr als hundertfünfzig Flipper.
meanwhile there are more than one hundred fifty pinball machines here.
Captions 6-7, Flipperautomaten - Kunstwerke für flinke Kugeln
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Hallo, ja, guten Tag. Ich möchte gern ein Bankkonto eröffnen.
Hello, yes, good day. I would like to open a bank account.
Caption 12, Eva erklärt - Bankkonten
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Sobald Sie Platz genommen haben, würde ich gerne die unterbrochene Sitzung wieder eröffnen.
As soon as you've taken your seats, I would like to re-open the suspended session.
Captions 1-2, Bundesregierung - Vereidigung der Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel
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The verb öffnen, on the other hand, is used with objects, such as a door, a letter, a bottle, or an umbrella. In everyday spoken German, öffnen is often replaced with aufmachen.
Wann wurde die Mauer in Berlin für alle geöffnet?
When was the wall in Berlin opened for all?
Caption 36, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Einbürgerungstest
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Die Polizei sagt, er solle seinen Kofferraum aufmachen.
The police [officer] says he should open his trunk.
Caption 4, Sabine erzählt Witze - Die Pinguine
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Further Learning
Browse through the many instances of eröffnen, öffnen, and aufmachen that can be found on Yabla German to get more clarity on which verb is used when. You can search not only for the infinitive, but also the conjugated verbs and the participles eröffnet, geöffnet, and aufgemacht.
Today we'll look at a topic that is neither particularly difficult nor completely easy. This is because either you memorize it immediately or you constantly forget the necessary order.
To create the "either... or..." construction in German, the words entweder and oder are employed, always in that particular order:
Daniel Müller ist entweder nicht im Büro oder nicht erreichbar.
Daniel Müller is either not in the office or not available.
Caption 20, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern - Part 1
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Das kann man entweder persönlich tun in einer Filiale oder online.
You can do that either in person at a branch or online.
Caption 14, Eva erklärt - Bankkonten
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Used to reject more than one possibility or eliminate two different parties, weder... noch... is the German equivalent of "neither... nor...":
Es war weder Mensch noch Tier.
It was neither man nor animal.
Caption 33, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die Schöne und das Biest
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Keiner rechnet damit, dass ein Radfahrer auf dem Gehweg fährt, weder Fußgänger noch Autofahrer.
No one takes into account that a cyclist will be riding on the sidewalk, neither pedestrians nor auto drivers.
Captions 12-13, Einsatz für Christophorus - Gehwegradler
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Another construction which you might have seen and is worth mentioning here is sowohl als auch. This is a fancy way of saying "both... and..." or "as well as...", therefore serving the opposite function.
Sowohl Malerei als auch Bildhauerei.
Both paintings as well as sculptures.
Caption 15, Lokalhelden - Art House - Part 1
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Sowohl in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland als auch in der DDR wehen schwarz-rot-goldene Fahnen.
Black, red, and gold flags wave in the Federal Republic of Germany as well as in the GDR.
Caption 61, Terra X - Woher kommen die Farben Schwarz-Rot-Gold?
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Further Learning
Look for more examples of the entweder... oder... and weder... noch... constructions on Yabla German to solidify your understanding. Also take a look at the different ways in which sowohl als auch can be translated.
One of my favorite German words took me a long time to learn to pronounce and even longer to properly understand. The word beziehungsweise not only has a fairly complex meaning, but it is also so long that in most cases people abbreviate the written form as bzw.
Often beziehungsweise is translated simply as "or":
Einen Wohnwagen beziehungsweise eine Hütte bekommt man ab
You get a trailer or a hut from
fünfundfünfzig Euro.
fifty-five euros.
Caption 33, Berlin - Indoor-Camping im „Hüttenpalast“
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So why not simply say oder ("or") instead of the longer beziehungsweise? One reason is that the latter often goes more in-depth than just saying "or." You may want to rent either a trailer or a hut, or perhaps both a trailer and hut. Beziehungsweise is thus often translated as "respectively" too:
Sobald beziehungsweise
As soon as, or respectively,
erst wenn der Antrag gemäß Artikel fünfzig
only when the motion in accordance with Article Fifty
der EU-Verträge vorliegt.
of the EU Treaties is submitted.
Captions 17-18, Brexit-Votum - Merkel warnt vor Spaltung Europas
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Sometimes beziehungsweise is used to narrow down a meaning and in this case is translated as "more specifically":
Damit man dieses Geld auch bekommt,
In order to receive this money,
benötigt man ein Bankkonto beziehungsweise ein Girokonto.
you need a bank account, more specifically a checking account.
Captions 7-8, Eva erklärt - Bankkonten
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Further Learning
So whether you are learning German for fun or (beziehungsweise) for business — perhaps both, right? — this is a good word to have in your active vocabulary. Although it is not usually translated as such, for me it helped to think of the word as the "and/or" that you sometimes see in English. Take a look at examples of beziehungsweise in context on Yabla German.
If you are planning a longer-term stay in Germany to study or just to live, you may want to familiarize yourself with some of the typical terms used when banking in Germany. Our latest Yabla video Eva erklärt - Bankkonten does just that!
Damit man dieses Geld auch bekommt,
In order to receive this money,
benötigt man ein Bankkonto beziehungsweise ein Girokonto.
you need a bank account, more specifically a checking account.
Captions 7-8, Eva erklärt - Bankkonten
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Terms: das Bankkonto, das Girokonto
Um das Konto einzurichten,
In order to set up the account,
benötigt die Bank eine Anmeldebestätigung
the bank needs a confirmation of registration
des Bürgeramtes.
from the municipal office.
Captions 15-16, Eva erklärt - Bankkonten
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Terms: die Anmeldebestätigung, das Bürgeramt
Wenn man das möchte,
If you would like,
kann man bei der Bank auch einen Dispositionskredit beantragen.
you can also apply for a credit line at the bank.
Captions 20-21, Eva erklärt - Bankkonten
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Term: der Dispositionskredit
Mit dieser kann man Geld abheben,
With this, you can withdraw money,
Kontoauszüge holen und beim Einkaufen bezahlen.
get bank statements, and pay when shopping.
Captions 26-27, Eva erklärt - Bankkonten
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Terms: abheben, der Kontoauszug
Further Learning
Do a search on Yabla German for more terms related to opening a bank account and familiarize yourself with any terms you may not know. Here is a list to start with: die Bankgebühr, die Bankkarte, die Filiale, der Geldautomat, die Geldkarte, das Guthaben, die Hypothek, die Kreditwürdigkeit, der Personalausweis, der Reisepass.
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