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German synonym thread

  Tags: Synonyms | German
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55 messages over 7 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
Frieza
Triglot
Senior Member
Portugal
Joined 5354 days ago

102 posts - 137 votes 
Speaks: Portuguese*, EnglishC2, French
Studies: German

 
 Message 50 of 55
20 December 2010 at 8:18pm | IP Logged 
Frieza wrote:
Is there any difference between 'das Dessert', 'der Nachtisch' and 'die Nachspeise'?

And what about 'das Gehalt' and 'der Lohn'?
I know that these are different but I've seen two different versions. Some say that 'Gehalt' is used for white-collar employees while 'Lohn' is reserved for blue-collar workers. Others claim that 'Gehalt' is monthly pay whereas 'Lohn' is weekly or daily pay.


Would anyone be able to clarify any of this?

Also, are 'das Bewerbungsgespräch' and 'das Vorstellungsgespräch' any different?
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Doitsujin
Diglot
Senior Member
Germany
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1256 posts - 2363 votes 
Speaks: German*, English

 
 Message 51 of 55
20 December 2010 at 10:18pm | IP Logged 
Frieza wrote:
Is there any difference between 'das Dessert', 'der Nachtisch' and 'die Nachspeise'?

They're all pretty much interchangeable. IMHO, "Dessert" is most frequently used followed by "Nachtisch" and "Nachspeise". (I personally find "Nachspeise" a bit old-fashioned and don't use it at all.)

Frieza wrote:
Some say that 'Gehalt' is used for white-collar employees while 'Lohn' is reserved for blue-collar workers. Others claim that 'Gehalt' is monthly pay whereas 'Lohn' is weekly or daily pay.

AFAIK, it doesn't matter whether the money is paid monthly, weekly or daily. The main difference is that "Gehalt" is a fixed salary while "Lohn" can vary depending on the actual number hours worked etc. Usually office workers get a "Gehalt" while blue collar workers get a "Lohn."

Frieza wrote:
Also, are 'das Bewerbungsgespräch' and 'das Vorstellungsgespräch' any different?

AFAIK, both are used interchangeably.   


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Doitsujin
Diglot
Senior Member
Germany
Joined 5321 days ago

1256 posts - 2363 votes 
Speaks: German*, English

 
 Message 52 of 55
20 December 2010 at 11:55pm | IP Logged 
Kuikentje wrote:
I want to know about ändern and verändern.

I'm afraid there are no hard-and-fast rules.

"verändern" is often used intransitively as a reflexive verb:

sich beruflich verändern = to change careers

while "ändern" is usually used as a transitive verb:

er hat seine Meinung geändert = he has changed his mind
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OlafP
Triglot
Senior Member
Germany
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261 posts - 667 votes 
Speaks: German*, French, English

 
 Message 53 of 55
21 December 2010 at 12:10am | IP Logged 
Kuikentje wrote:
I want to know about ändern and verändern.
One time a person told me that verändern = to die (?)


The second part is easy to answer: you mean 'verenden', compare to 'das Ende' (the end).

Now the first part. This is a tricky question. I've been thinking about it for quite some time now, and I can't come up with a general rule. There definitely is a difference between 'ändern' and 'verändern' in some situations, but it is hard or even impossible to nail it down. Here are some examples:

sein Aussehen verändern -- to change one's appearance
sein Verhalten ändern -- to change one's behavior

It is not strictly wrong to use the verbs the other way around, but it would sound a bit strange. The implicit meanings of the following phrases are quite clear:

Sie hat sich verändert. -- She has changed. (Meaning: Her appearance has changed.)
Sie hat sich geändert. -- She has changed. (Meaning: Her behavior has changed.)

Why would you use 'ändern' with appearance but 'verändern' with behavior? I have no idea.

You don't really have a choice with these two:
die Welt verändern -- to change the world
ein Gesetz ändern -- to change a law

What's the difference here? Is it because the world is 'bigger' than a law? No idea. It sounds strange to say 'die Welt ändern'. On the other hand, 'ein Gesetz verändern' sounds like making only a minor adjustment instead of replacing the whole thing with something new, and yet it somehow seems to be wrong to say it like that at all.

This one is quite clear:
Meine Adresse hat sich geändert. -- My address has changed.

But this one is not:
Das Wetter ändert sich ständig. -- The weather keeps changing.
Das Wetter verändert sich ständig. -- The weather keeps changing.

I would prefer the first version, but the second sounds perfectly fine.


It seems to boil down to idiomatic use. If one cannot find a rule then this might indicate that there is none. Anyway, I hope I could add something to your confusion.


Edited by OlafP on 21 December 2010 at 12:13am

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Frieza
Triglot
Senior Member
Portugal
Joined 5354 days ago

102 posts - 137 votes 
Speaks: Portuguese*, EnglishC2, French
Studies: German

 
 Message 55 of 55
27 December 2010 at 6:57pm | IP Logged 
Thanks Doitsujin.


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