1. to talk (Often synonymous with "sprechen" but "reden" is not used in the context of speaking capability. The focus is on meaningful conversation.)
Opposite (closest): schweigen
Word Family
Root: *ar(ə)-
ArmeeÄrmelAss im Ärmelkurzärmlichlangärmligsich etwas aus dem Ärmel schüttelnjemanden auf den Arm nehmenjemanden in den Arm nehmenOberarmSeitenarmumarmenUmarmungUnterarm
abartigArtensterbenartgerecht-artiggroßartigartigArtistausartendie Art und WeiseeigenartigMundartnach Art des HausesTierartTonartUnart
Working on sentences that start with Worüber and also trying to get Reden into my vocabulary (and in my ears) and give Sprechen a rest. However, I am getting one of those Google word order flips that I am not quite understanding.
Worüber redet ihr
Worüber habt ihr gesprochen
aber…
Über was habt ihr geredet <no Worüber!>
Google Translate rejects my “Worüber habt ihr geredet” and changes it to the above. I checked http://www.dict.cc and it seems this should work. Is there something wrong with “Worüber habt ihr geredet” that “Über was habt ihr geredet” fixes?
Oh, this is an instance of Google being overly strict with what it seems to have learned to be the more common version.
Both sentences are totally fine with either option (über was, worüber).
Worüber sounds a bit more high register, so my suspicion is now that Google thinks “habt … gesprochen” is a bit more daily speech, while “redet ihr” is a bit more “official” and so it choses the question phrase accordingly. But the difference is not that big and both are perfectly idiomatic.
I’m not sure I like this trend that I am seeing here, at least not for learners. It gives you the impression of some rules or patterns that just don’t exist in reality.
Yes – that is exactly the case (a pattern or lack of pattern that does/doesn’t exist in the language)
Here is a new favorite – typing in the English into Google Translate:
I saw him yesterday
I saw her yesterday
translates to:
Ich habe ihn gestern gesehen
Ich sah sie gestern (!)
I know that some verbs will go to one of the past modes or the other, but changing the gender of the pronoun shouldn’t flip it….right? I figured it would stick with one regardless of the pronoun.
I have learned much on this website and other places, so I am giving the finger to Google and keeping “Ich habe sie gestern gesehen” for my flashcards. That is, unless you say otherwise :)
Absolutely, 100%! Also “Ich sah sie gestern.” is definitely book lingo, not something people typically use in conversation.
I think whenever you run into something like this on Google translate, you can trust your intuition. It’ll probably be right. Otherwise, I’m always here :)