Reading · B2 · Text 50

Farbe

49 words1 min read94% known at B2

Die Farben kann man in einem Kreis auf-malen. rot, violett, blau, grün, gelb, orange und wieder rot.

The colors can be painted in a circle: red, violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red again.

Braun entsteht, wenn man von allen Farben ein wenig zusammen mischt.

Brown is created when you mix a little of all colors together.

Weiß entsteht, wenn man Licht von allen Farben zusammen mischt.

White is created when you mix light of all colors together.

Es ist einfach dunkel, wie in einem Raum ohne Licht.

It is simply dark, like in a room without light.

3 words above B2

yellow yellow; related to the FDP (a libertarian and market-economy promoting political party in Germany); blond C1/ɡɛlp/
brown brown; tan (skin, due to sun exposure); of the Nazi party and organisations (due to the brown SA uniform) C1/bʁaʊ̯n/
violet violet; purple; lilac (color/colour); violet, purple (colour) C2/ˌviːoˈlɛt/

Grammar in this text

Passive voice with 'entsteht'

Braun entsteht, wenn man von allen Farben ein wenig zusammen mischt.

The verb 'entsteht' (from 'entstehen') is used in the active voice but conveys a passive meaning: 'arises' or 'is created'. It is a common way to express processes without using the passive voice.

Subordinate clause with 'wenn'

wenn man von allen Farben ein wenig zusammen mischt

The conjunction 'wenn' introduces a conditional or temporal subordinate clause. The verb is placed at the end of the clause, which is a key feature of subordinate clauses in German.

Infinitive with 'kann'

Die Farben kann man in einem Kreis auf-malen.

The modal verb 'kann' (can) is used with the infinitive 'auf-malen' (to paint on). The infinitive goes to the end of the sentence in a main clause.

Separable verb 'auf-malen'

auf-malen

The verb 'auf-malen' is a separable verb. In the infinitive, the prefix 'auf-' is separated and placed at the end of the sentence in a main clause. This is a typical feature of separable verbs in German.

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

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