dabei

1.

while, when doing that

Opposite: wobei

(Used to express that you're doing something and while doing that, you do something else. Think of working and listening to music "dabei". Note that "dabei" is usually NOT a translation for "thereby". That's "dadurch" in German.)

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Examples

• Ich habe gekocht und dabei die Nachrichten gehört.
• I cooked and listened to the news while doing it.

2.

which is weird because, curious considering, even though

(This use is hard to translate to one word. It's loosely based on the notion of "while" but expresses a weird contrast, often with a notion of surprise.)

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Examples

• Wow, das ist soooo lecker. Und dabei mag ich Spinat eigentlich nicht.
• Wow, this is sooo tasty. And I don't even like spinach, usually.

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3.

with, at

(Pretty much only with a few verbs like dabei bleiben, dabei sein or dabei haben. It expresses an idea of staying with something and having something with you.)

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Word Family

My Articles

German Da-Words Explained

Da-words (or da-compounds) are an essential part of German. Today, we'll learn what they are, how to use them and why they're actually pretty cool.

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The meaning of “da”

"da" means "there", "here","because" and "then". Seems a bit random, but if you think of "da" as verbal index finger, you understand why Germans use it so much.

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“dabei” – Meaning and Use Explained

Dabei is not only a common da-word, it's part of some really cool and useful phrasings like "dabei haben" or "dabei sein". Today, we'll find out all about it.

Vocab: dabei, dabei haben, dabei sein, wobei

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Questions and Comments

Do you have questions about the usage or meaning of “dabei”? Just ask here and I’ll try to clear it up.

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2 Comments

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Giannis

Hello Emmanuel! As for the second meaning of dabei in this entry (the weird contrast one), can’t we also translate it as “yet” ?

z.B.

• Er ist beleidigt, dabei habe ich nichts getan.
• He is offended, yet I did not do anything.

I am also reading a book and I came across this sentence:

• Ich hielt mich für reich mit meiner einzigartigen Blume, und dabei besitze nur eine gewöhnliche Rose.

• I thought I were rich with my unique flower, and yet I just own an ordinary rose.

To me, yet looks like a very neat translation. What is your opinion on this?

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Emanuel

Reply to  Giannis

I think this is more a question about English, and I am not a native speaker.

I don’t like “yet”, especially not in the first example, because to me, it sounds like this:

– Usually I do something if someone is offended, but in this cases I didn’t.

So to me, it’s not about him being offended even though I didn’t do anything, but rather about me not doing anything even though he is offended.

It works better in the first example, but I’d say you have to be careful with “yet”, because it’s not always the same.

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