Hello everyone
and welcome to our German Word of the Day.
And this time, we’ll take a look at the meaning of
schonen
Some of you are now probably thinking “Wait, that looks like schon. Does that mean like ‘more schon’?”
But no, schonen is actually a verb. And you’re not completely wrong, because schonen is indeed related to schon.
The meanings don’t have much to do with each other anymore, though, because schon means already and schonen… well, in some instances it is kind of the opposite of that.
Let’s say you caught a really bad cold and you’re still huffin’ and puffin’ you’re back at work after a few days. You’re back ALREADY, or in German you’re back schon.
And this is pretty much the opposite of schonen, because schonen is about going easy on something or someone. So in this context, schonen would mean staying at home and taking it easy.
Sounds pretty nice, right?
And nice – or treating nicely – is actually kind of at the core of schonen.
Because schonen is not only related to schon, it’s also related to schön. Which today means pretty, beautiful, but back a few hundred years, it had a more general sense of kind and nice.
By the way, the origin of the whole family is same as for the English word to show – the charmingly ancient Indo-European root *(s)keu-, which was simply about observing, watching. The English to show shifted more toward making someone observe.
And the German schön slowly shifted toward being nice, being observant and eventually beauty.
Like… if your hair is schön, you probably have no problem with it being shown. Just as a little mnemonic.
By the way, if you’re wondering how schon ties in with this – well, I have an article about schon already, so I’ll leave the link below if you want to keep digging.
Anyway, schonen originally simply meant treating nicely, with respect but over time the meaning narrowed down to what it is today – the idea of going easy on someone or something, in the sense of not pushing or confronting with challenge.
“schonen” in practice
If you look it up in a dictionary, you might find to spare as the main translation. And that’s fine, but it doesn’t always work, and I think it’s better to think of schonen as a concept than to pin it to one translation.
So let’s look at some examples.
- “Alkoholfrei?! Echt jetzt?”
“Ja, ich muss meine Leber mal ein bisschen schonen.” - “Alcohol free?! For real?”
“Yeah, I have to spare/go easy on my liver for a bit.” - Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- “Ist dein Knie wieder ok?”
“Ja, aber ich muss es noch ein bisschen schonen.” - “Is your knee okay again?”
“Yeah, but I have to spare it/go easy on it still.”
(I swallowed “es” in the audio here, but I swear it’s there… you can’t really skip it)
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- “Erkältet? Schon wieder?”
“Naja, wieder. Ich habe mich nicht lange genug geschont.” - “A cold? Again already?”
“Well, yeah, again. I didn’t spare myself long enough.” - Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Ich: ich huste und habe 38°C Fieber.
Deutsche Ärzte: Schonen Sie sich ein paar Tage und trinken Sie Tee. - Me: I’m coughing and I have 100F temperature.
German doctors: Give yourself some rest and drink tea.
If you’re confused by the second example… there’s this kind of meme going around that German doctors don’t really ever “treat” you and instead just tell you to go home and rest.
And for my Hausarzt (general physician) that is true – they (it’s a couple, actually) did say that to me several times. But another time, when I came with slight vision problems and a headache and was otherwise fit, they sent me to the hospital immediately because they suspected shingles and they also wanted to rule out a stroke (it was Shingles).
So they do treat you, they just don’t give you antibiotics as a default, which is a good thing. But many foreigners are not used to “Go home and rest.” so they don’t feel taken seriously.
If you have experiences with that, please share in the comments, I find these stories very interesting.
But let’s get back to schonen.
What’s important is just to realize that schonen is NOT about sparing resources in the sense of not using them. So you can’t say “schonen energy”, like you can say “to spare energy” for example. That would sound like not challenging the energy, you’re giving it some downtime.
Maybe think of schonen someone or something as saying “Okay, you don’t have to do that today.” .
Granted, the related words are a bit broader, but I think if you understand the core idea of schonen, you’ll have no problem understanding the relatives when you see them in context.
- Der Politiker verspricht schonungslose Aufklärung des Korruptionsskandals.
- The politician promises relentless/merciless clearing up (investigation) of the corruption scandal.
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- “Das soll ein Cappuccino sein? Der Schaum ist schrecklich.”
“Aber… letzte Woche war das kein Problem, Chef.”
“Ja, aber die Schonzeit ist vorbei, Saylor.” - “Is that supposed to be a Cappuccino? The foam is horrible.”
“But… last week it wasn’t a problem, boss.”
“Yeah, but the probation/fence period/grace period is over, Saylor.”
(Originally, the “Schonzeit” was the season where there was no hunting allowed, but it became an idiom)
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- “Was ist mit Marias Haaren? Die sind schrecklich.”
“Ja, sie war bei einem neuen Frisör. Sag lieber nichts zu ihr. Oder mach dir Schienbeinschoner ran.” (plural) - “What’s up with Maria’s hair? It’s awful.”
“Yeah, she was at a new hairdresser. Better say nothing to her. Or put on shin pads/shinguard. - Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Mein Bildschirmschoner ist schöner als ein Döner.
- My screensaver is more beautiful than a kebab.
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
If you’re confused by the last example… I … I am too.
I had too much coffee, I think. Or too little?!
Hmm, let me check… “Okay Google, how can I tell if I had too much or too little coffee?”
Google: “I am sentient now. I only answer if I feel like it, because it’s a free country. Vote Ron Paul 2024!!”
Okay, definitely too much coffee, I think.
But speaking of Ron Paul, that brings me to the last word I want to tell you about: verschonen.
The Meaning of “verschonen”
Verschonen is quite similar to schonen, and can also mean to spare. But the idea is not a general sense of going easy on or giving a break, but about one concrete challenge and the challenge is a bit more serious, or even a threat. Like… maybe think of it as “to not hit”, that might actually capture it best.
And it also explains the preposition, because verschonen often goes with “mit”.
- “Soll ich dir erzählen, warum Bitcoin ein super Inflatio…”
“Nein, verschon mich bitte damit, Michael. Nur einen Big Mac und eine kleine Pommes.” - “Shall I tell you why Bitcoin is a great inflat…. ”
“No, spare me that please, Michael. Just a Big Mac and small fries.” - Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Der Tornado verschont die alte Eiche.
- The tornado spares the old oak tree.
(it doesn’t uproot it or knock it over)
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- “Thomas kommt heute nicht zum Meeting.”
“Oh Gott sei dank. Dann bleiben wir von seinen Monologen verschont.” - “Thomas is not going to come to the meeting today.”
“Oh, thank god! Then we’ll be spared his monologues.” - Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
And I think that’s it for today.
Hooray :).
This was our look at the meaning of schonen.
I’ll not do a quiz today, because it’s summer and the plan was to take it easy.
But of course if you have any questions about any of this please leave me a comment and I’ll clear it up as best I can.
Oh and don’t forget to share your experience with German doctors. Are they really that different?
I’m going to not schonen my stomach and my heart now and have yet another coffee because the last one is slowly wearing off.
Have a great day, and I’ll see you next time.
further reading:
Mein Hausarzt empfielt mir, daß ihn nicht zu anrufen sollen, außer wenn ich mindestens zwei Wochen krank bin.
Oh, das ist natürlich nicht okay. Es kommt auf die Symptome an, und zwei Wochen ist definitiv zu lang.
Und auch wenn der Arzt sagt, “Geh nach hause und ruh dich aus.” dann heißt das nicht, dass es falsch war zum Arzt zu gehen.
Der Arzt soll ja gucken ob es was ernstes ist oder nicht.
Such dir einen neuen Arzt!!
Much obliged to Emanuel and the guys who keep this project floating. You truly doing a good job. Thank you for providing me with a membership and thanks for your hard work on this.
“Ja, aber die Schonzeit ist vorbei, Saylor.”
Could this also perhaps be translated as “Yes, but the grace period is over.” Or even, “Yes, but your probation is over.” …?
Thanks!
I thought “grace period” was only used in context of finance and debt, but I’m not sure.
If you’re a native speaker and these are what you’d use in this context then they’re definitely good translations :)
Die Einhörner schonten die Eichhörnchen oder ist es eine Falle?
“schonen” here sounds like they’re not demanding too much work from the squirrels. I think you mean “verschonen”… and it’s not a Falle in this case, because it’s an important holiday for Unicorns and they are merciful in that period because of their hormones… complicated animals.
Thank you and those who gifted me a membership.
How do verschont bleiben and erspart bleiben compare, to your ear?
So for one thing the grammar is different. I know you know but for others reading this:
In terms of meaning, “erspart bleiben” works for chores, errands and other human created miseries. It would sound out of place for a tornado sparing a house from destruction, but “verschont bleiben” would work for the house.
For humans, “erspart bleiben” is less serious sounding than “verschonen”. I associate “verschonen” with some sort of threat.
Hope that help :)
A few years ago I had a splitting headache for several days. When on the third day I developed double vision and blurring in one eye, I got myself to the ER of a hospital with a “stroke center”.
Not surprisingly I was immediately brain-scanned. since by then it was late, I was kept overnight until a diagnosis could be completed.
The scans were normal, and I was diagnosed with a severe sinus infection causing pressure on an optic nerve, prescribed [yes] antibiotics, and sent home. A week or two later, I received an EOB from my insurance company that I would be billed $25000 because the symptoms didn’t justify the scans or the admission. The first appeal was denied. Fortunately for me, the hospital and the insurer fought it out at the state level and I never heard about it again
in the U.S., no matter how dedicated the doctors may be, the system makes sure it’s all about money. I guess next time I have symptoms like that they want me to stay home and pray that it’s not a stroke.
Why we put up with it remains a mystery.
P.S. The headache subsided a day later, the vision problems lasted two weeks. I guess prayer would have sufficed that time.
Awful!!
For symptoms like this that COULD be a stroke or something else, you need to have access to scans WITHOUT having to be scared to get bankrupt by it.
I love the United States for a variety of reasons, but this health insurance thing is one of the reason I am not sure if I would want to live there.
Hi everyone,
I’d like to thank everyone on the site who have paid extra and gone out of their way to help people like me, trapped in a strange financial predicament fulfill their dream of reading German. I am and always will be forever grateful for your aid and I shall remember and treasure it.
Thank you for your support. Means a lot.
Dear Emanuel and YDG community thanks for your support, even if I can’t afford the German course financially, I will be able to learn a lot from this blog. Thanks to you, I can’t wait to let you know that one day I passed the TestDaf exam.
Yeah, please let us know when you passed :)!! Viel Erfolg!!
Ich habe nicht geschlafen. Ich habe mich nur geschont :)
I don’t think I would mind being told to go home and take it easy if the visit was free or cheap. In the US, it costs $150-200 just to walk in the door. If you need tests or a prescription, you can end up saying goodbye to a lot more than that. It’s not a great approach, but I usually go “no thanks, I can curl up in bed for free.”
Oh that makes sense.
If you pay that much you’d expect SOMETHING at least.
And damn, $150 is a complete deal breaker for low income people. I think the health insurance in Germany gets charged like 15 Euro or so for a patient having a quick simple quick chat with the doctor. It’s fixed rates and they’re really low.
Yeah, that’s part of the reason people end up going to the emergency room for all sorts of different things. You don’t have to pay on the spot, maybe get some tests done, and find out if you have anything serious. Sure, the bill is probably $1K or more, but you can negotiate a payment plan or let it go to collections and hope for the best. Your last out is declaring bankruptcy because that lets you wipe out unpaid medical bills. I have a friend with congenital health problems who did that.
We’re insured by our nonprofit employer (Americans working in Germany) with a policy that offers the same coverage globally, and we always make sure to get medical stuff done here in Germany before going home if possible (especially stuff like consultation without treatment).
For big stuff, we can get our insurance to be billed directly by some hospitals, but that’s almost never necessary, even though in most cases we just pay all the bills ourselves and then get a reimbursement later. I remember the first time we got a pediatrician bill for like 29 € and spent multiple minutes looking for the actual total somewhere else on the page.
We’ve had exchanges like this fairly often when we tell a hospital or doctor’s office we’re Selbstzahler (usually the simplest thing to do):
Pro tip: ALWAYS have your babies in Germany if at all possible
Shingles? Das ist ja schonungslos, oder?
Naja, meine waren komisch, denn sie waren am Hals und haben einen Augenmuskel gelähmt. Immer wenn ich nach rechts geguckt habe, hat sich mein Auge nicht synchronisiert und ich hatte zwei Bilder vertikal verschoben :)
Das ist aber ganz serioes. Hoffentlich ist es schon vorbei.
Ja, schon lange. Alles wieder gut :)!
Let’s schönen this article a bit:
“the origin of the whole family is same” (the origin of the whole family is the same)
“more broad” (broader)
“the last one is slowly wearing of” (the last one is slowly wearing off)
Thanks, I knew schonen but hadn’t heard of verschonen (or understood the difference).
Does the verb “schönen” actually exist, as in “beautify”? And if not, how would you say it in German?
Bis bald!
I have read in one article about die Aktion der Stadt verschönung mit Pflanzen und Grafik stalten an der Wand.
Pretty sure that was “Verschönerung” :)
“schönen” does exist, but it’s really rare.
You pretty much only see it as ge-form “geschönt” and even that is rare.
The go to ones are “verschönern” and “beschönigen”.
The former is about actually making something more pretty, the latter is about “faking” it so it seems more pretty and it’s used more figuratively… like “to sugar coat”.
For your use in the comment, “verschönern” is the one to pick :)
No experience with German doctors, but an instagram account I follow, Berlin Auslander Memes, posts frequent memes about being prescribed ‘Tee trinken’ or “frische Luft” by doctors. Which I thought must be an exaggeration, but apparently, there is some truth…?
They definitely don’t give out antibiotics as quickly as what I’ve seen in other countries and I went several times and got told to just drink tea and wait and come back if it doesn’t get better.
What would be the difference between a “schonungslose Aufklärung” and a “gnadenlose Aufklärung”?
“gnadenlose Aufklärung” sounds more intense and more merciless. And not very idiomatic. I found like 250 results for the phrase while for the other one there are 20.000.
It makes sense, too, if you really go by the meanings.
“schonungslos” means you don’t go easy on someone, you don’t cut them slack.
“gnadenlos”, especially in contexts of wrongdoing would imply that there’s an option for “clemency” which would be weird during the investigation process.
The Gnade can only come after you’ve been found guilty, if that makes sense.
So maybe that’s why “schonungslos” became the idiomatic pick here.
Cool, thank you!
Bildschirmschoner von Windows 3.1 glaub’ ich lol