Reading · B1 · Text 29

Wort

139 words2 min read85% known at B1

Außerdem kann man aus Wörtern neue Wörter bilden.

Furthermore, you can form new words from words.

Aus „rollen“ und „Schuh“ wird „Rollschuh“.

From 'rollen' and 'Schuh' comes 'Rollschuh'.

Das ist nicht nur irgendein Schuh, der irgendwie was mit „Rollen“ zu tun hat.

That is not just any shoe that somehow has something to do with 'rolling'.

Gemeint ist eine bestimmte Art von Schuh, es handelt sich also um ein neues Wort mit einer eigenen Bedeutung.

What is meant is a specific kind of shoe, so it is a new word with its own meaning.

Die Zahl der möglichen Wörter wird dadurch mehr oder weniger unendlich.

The number of possible words thereby becomes more or less infinite.

Die Mehrzahl von Wort lautet Wörter.

The plural of 'Wort' is 'Wörter'.

Es gibt aber auch noch eine andere Mehrzahlform: Worte.

But there is also another plural form: 'Worte'.

Die verwendet man, wenn man nicht wirklich einzelne Wörter meint, sondern mehr die Aussage dahinter.

This is used when you don't really mean individual words, but rather the statement behind them.

Wenn es heißt: „Deine Worte haben mir gefallen“, dann denkt man mehr an die Rede insgesamt.

When it says, 'Your words have pleased me,' you think more of the speech as a whole.

Außerdem findet man „Worte“ oft in Sprichwörtern oder feststehenden Redewendungen: „Sie macht nicht viele Worte“ bedeutet, dass sie nicht viel redet, sondern schnell handelt.

Furthermore, you often find 'Worte' in proverbs or set phrases: 'She doesn't make many words' means that she doesn't talk much but acts quickly.

„Das sind große Worte“ sagt man über jemanden, der viel verspricht.

'Those are big words' is said about someone who promises a lot.

14 words above B1

bilden
to form regular: bilden, bildete, gebildet
redet← reden
talks, speaks regular: reden, redete, geredet
lautet← lauten
is (worded), reads regular: lauten, lautete, gelautet
Mehrzahl
plural form synonym of 'Plural'; plural: Mehrzahlen
Rollschuh
roller skate compound of 'rollen' + 'Schuh'; plural: Rollschuhe
Rede
speech, talk plural: Reden
Redewendungen← die Redewendung
idioms, fixed phrases plural form in text; singular: die Redewendung expression, figure of speech, idiom, phrase, turn of phrase C1/ˈʁeːdəˌvɛndʊŋ/
andere
other, another used attributively, stem 'ander-' inflected
Art
kind, type plural: Arten
irgendein
some, any (one) indefinite pronoun; inflection follows 'ein'
thereby, through that referring back to previously mentioned cause through it, through that; thus B2
dahinter
behind it, behind that da- compound; in context 'the meaning behind it'
altogether, as a whole summarizing adverb overall, altogether, in total, all in all, by and large, on the whole B2/ˈɪnsɡəˌzamt/
infinite, infinitely adjectival/adverbial form; related to 'Ende' infinite; extraordinary C1/ʊnˈʔɛntlɪç/

Grammar in this text

Verb-final word order in subordinate clauses (Nebensatz)

wenn man nicht wirklich einzelne Wörter meint

In a subordinate clause introduced by a conjunction such as 'wenn', the finite verb moves to the very end of the clause. The example shows 'meint' at the end.

Reflexive verb with preposition: 'sich handeln um'

es handelt sich also um ein neues Wort

This fixed expression means 'it is about'. The verb 'handeln' is used reflexively with 'sich' and requires the preposition 'um' plus accusative. Recognize it by the sequence 'handelt sich um'.

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Same text, graded forB2 versionC1 versionC2 version

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

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