Reading · A1 · Text 8

Kiwi

78 words1 min read73% known at A1

Die Brutzeit dauert zwei bis drei Monate, das ist sehr lange.

The incubation period lasts two to three months, which is very long.

Je nach Art brütet nur das Männchen oder beide abwechselnd.

Depending on the species, either only the male broods or both take turns.

Wenn die Jungtiere schlüpfen, sehen sie schon fast aus wie ihre Eltern.

When the young hatch, they already look almost like their parents.

Sie verlassen das Nest auch schon nach einer Woche.

They also leave the nest after just one week.

Viele werden aber von Katzen, Hunden oder Wieseln gefressen.

However, many are eaten by cats, dogs, or weasels.

Diese Tiere haben die Menschen in Neuseeland eingeschleppt.

Humans introduced these animals to New Zealand.

Mit zwei Jahren können Kiwi-Vögel schon selber Junge haben.

At two years, kiwi birds can already have their own young.

Wenn alles klappt, werden sie über zwanzig Jahre alt.

If everything goes well, they will live to over twenty years.

17 words above A1

Menschen← der Mensch
human being, person plural: die Menschen
parents plural only A2/ˈɛltərn/
Nest← das Nest
nest plural: die Nester
lange← lang
long (time) adverbial form long; lengthy (in space or time); tall; many (indicating the length of the time in total) A2/laŋ(k)/
almost almost; nearly; hardly; extremely, very much A2/fast/
to leave strong verb: verlässt, verließ, hat verlassen to leave, to abandon; to depart, to forsake; to trust; to rely on B1/fərˈlasən/
gefressen← fressen
eaten (by animals) geffressen: past participle; strong verb: frisst, fraß, gefressen
dauert← dauern
to last regular verb to last, to continue, to persist (for a period of time); to last, to be permanent; to take time, to take a while A2/ˈdaʊ̯ɐn/
selber
oneself, themselves colloquial for 'selbst'
klappt← klappen
to work out, to succeed regular verb
Jungtiere← das Jungtier
young animal, offspring plural form: die Jungtiere
brütet← brüten
to brood, to sit on eggs regular verb
schlüpfen
to hatch regular verb
alternately, taking turns adverbially alternate, alternating; rotational C1
je
in 'je nach' = depending on
Art← die Art
species, kind plural: die Arten
Kiwi← der Kiwi
kiwi (bird) in compound Kiwi-Vögel

Grammar in this text

Subordinate clause with 'wenn' (verb-final position)

Wenn die Jungtiere schlüpfen, sehen sie schon fast aus wie ihre Eltern.

The conjunction 'wenn' introduces a subordinate clause; the conjugated verb moves to the end of that clause.

Present perfect (Perfekt) with 'haben' + past participle

Diese Tiere haben die Menschen in Neuseeland eingeschleppt.

The auxiliary 'haben' is conjugated in second position, and the past participle of the main verb stands at the end. For separable verbs, the prefix remains attached to the participle.

Modal verb 'können' + infinitive

Mit zwei Jahren können Kiwi-Vögel schon selber Junge haben.

The modal verb is conjugated in second position, and the main verb appears as an infinitive at the end of the sentence.

Keep going

Text from Kiwi — Klexikon, used under CC BY-SA 4.0. See sources.

Translation, glossary and grammar notes are machine-generated and inherit the same licence.