2. to guess
Meanings
Examples
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We'll learn about "raten" and why it is guessing and giving advice at the same time. Also: lots of really useful prefix versions and other nice words.
Vocab:
raten, der Rat, beraten, verraten, erraten, das Rätsel
Word Family
Root: *ar(ə)-
The core idea of this root was:
fitting together
It’s the origin of a quite wide array of words that all in some way are about connecting parts or making parts fit.
Here’s a little (incomplete) overview:
- arm (bones joined together into a whole)
- arthritis (“related to joints”)
- arm (tool fitted together, then “weapon”)
- armor (again, stuff fitted together)
- alarm (originally: “to the weapons”)
- art, artificial, artist, artifact (“stuff fitted together”)
- article (“part of a whole”)
- articulate (“to say clearly, as separate parts”)
- order (“fitted together”)
- ordinary (originally “according to order”)
- subordinate (“ordered below”)
- harmony (“fitting tones”)
ArmeeÄrmelAss im Ärmelkurzärmlichlangärmligsich etwas aus dem Ärmel schüttelnjemanden auf den Arm nehmenjemanden in den Arm nehmenOberarmSeitenarmumarmenUmarmungUnterarm
abartigArtensterbenartgerecht-artiggroßartigartigArtistausartendie Art und WeiseeigenartigMundartnach Art des HausesTierartTonartUnart
Questions and Comments
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there seems to be a verb geraten. It appears to be defined as some type of ‘get into’.
Duden online suggests it is fairly active in usage. Can you help with a clearer definition for it, as it is one of the elusive ‘GE’ verbs
thanks.
This is indeed a pretty elusive one!
It can be used in the sense of how something turns out:
But that’s not very common.
The other sense is “ending up at/in” usually in the context of finding yourself in a place/situation you didn’t expect.
The verb took on these sense very early on and the “logical” connection might be a sense of “aiming and hitting”.
When you guess, you “hit” a target (or you miss). If you think of making a cake or navigating life as a “guess” then you “end up” somewhere, somehow due to these guesses.
Just to make sure… NO German actually thinks of “guessing” when they hear geraten. But that might have been the inspiration hundreds of years ago.
Hope that helps.