Reading · B1 · Text 12

Küste

58 words1 min read98% known at B1

Eine Küste ist die Grenze zwischen Meer und festem Land.
A coast is the boundary between the sea and solid land.
Flüsse und Seen haben keine Küste sondern ein Ufer.
Rivers and lakes do not have a coast but a shore.
Das machen die Wellen oder auch ein Sturm.
The waves or a storm do that.
Es soll nicht zu viel Land an das Meer verloren gehen.
Not too much land should be lost to the sea.
Sonst würde das Meer viel Erde weg-spülen.
Otherwise, the sea would wash away a lot of earth.
Bei einer Steil-Küste trifft das Meer sofort auf das Fest-Land.
In the case of a steep coast, the sea immediately meets the mainland.

15 words above B1

wellen← die Welle

wave (of water) plural: Wellen wave (of water); wave, curve, anything wave-shaped (e.g. hair); shaft (mechanical component) B2/ˈvɛlə/

Küste

coast B1/ˈkʏstə/

Grenze

border, boundary border; limit; frontier B1/ˈɡrɛn.t͡sə/

fest

solid, firm feast, celebration, festival, party; firm; compact; hard; firm; fixed; rigid A2/fɛst/

Land

land country (territory of a nation); state, province (political division of a federation retaining a notable degree of autonomy); land (real estate or… A1/lant/

Flüsse← der Fluss

river plural: Flüsse river; flow A1/flʊs/

Seen← der See

lake plural: Seen lake; sea, ocean; sea, sea condition, swell A1/zeː/

Ufer

bank, shore shore, shoreline; bank B1/ˈuːfəʁ/

Sturm

storm A strong, blustery wind; gust; gale; squall; storm, tempest; storm, rush, attack B1/ʃtʊrm/

verloren← verlieren

to lose irregular: verliert, verlor, hat verloren to lose (something, or a game); to shed; to trail away, to fade away A2[fɛɐ̯ˈliːʁən]

weg-spülen← wegspülen

to wash away separable: spült weg, spülte weg, hat weggespült

Steil-Küste← die Steilküste

steep coast, cliff coast

trifft← treffen

to meet, to hit irregular: trifft, traf, hat getroffen to meet; to encounter; to hit; to strike; to affect; to concern A1/ˈtʁɛfən/

sofort

immediately immediately, at once A1/zoˈfɔʁt/

Fest-Land← das Festland

mainland, continent mainland (the main landmass of a country or continent); dry land, solid ground C1/ˈfɛstˌlant/

Grammar in this text

Negation with 'kein'

Flüsse und Seen haben keine Küste sondern ein Ufer.

The negative article 'kein' is used to negate a noun, meaning 'no' or 'not a'. It declines like 'ein' but with a negative sense.

Modal verb 'sollen' with 'nicht'

Es soll nicht zu viel Land an das Meer verloren gehen.

The modal verb 'sollen' expresses obligation or intention. Here it is negated with 'nicht' to say 'should not'. The infinitive 'verloren gehen' is at the end.

Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II) for hypothetical situations

Sonst würde das Meer viel Erde weg-spülen.

The subjunctive II form 'würde' + infinitive is used to express a hypothetical or unreal condition. It is formed with 'würde' and the infinitive at the end.

Separable verb in a clause

Sonst würde das Meer viel Erde weg-spülen.

The separable verb 'wegspülen' consists of the prefix 'weg-' and the base verb 'spülen'. In the sentence, the prefix is separated and placed at the end, while the finite verb is in second position.

Keep going

B1 · Text 11 Gewissen 98% known · 62 words Read B1 · Text 13 Liebe 98% known · 109 words Read Practice B1 reading questions Comprehension and true/false items on texts like this one. Test yourself

Same text, graded forB2 version C1 version C2 version

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

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