Hello everyone,
and welcome to our German Word of the Day. This time we’ll have a look at the meaning of
treiben
A word that’ll really drive your German forward. Driiive. Draaaaiiiiiiiiifff. Traaaiiiiiiipffff. Treeeeiiibut hey let’s waste no more time with my nonsense and get right into the world of treiben. Sounds good? Perfect.
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Seit drei Jahren habe ich über Thomas and Maria gelesen. Sie hätten viele Paar Probleme… Ich habe gewusst dass Maria einen schlechten Einfluss auf ihn hatte.
Treiben seems to have showed up a lot in my readings/podcasts this week. Also, it seems to be THE verb for doing Sports as you show here. DeepL etc all use it.
“Sport treiben” is a more “scripted” option. You can find it in a flyer of a wellness retreat for instance.
I never use it ever in daily life, especially not when I talk me actually doing it.
As for Thomas and Maria… it’s complicated with them, for sure. But as far as I know, it’s not really only one person’s fault. It’s a weird couple dynamic at play here.
Also, benutzt du “Ich mache Sport” ?
Ja, nur das.
What happened to the ‘Done’ button? And the audio examples cut out halfway through in this one. Great article btw.
Good question about the done button.
Looks like it’s now gone on ALL posts for some reason. I’ll have to check what’s going on.
Not sure what you mean about the audio examples cutting out though. The buttons are all there on my end.
Okay, buttons should be back soon.
I had to change a script and it might be buffered in the browser, so changes don’t show immediately, but yeah… in theory, it’s fixed.
Thanks for letting me know about it!
Yet again YDG has exactly what I was looking for. Lately, I have been noticing a lot of words that seem connected to treiben and wondering how they are related. So I looked to see if there was a YDG article and, sure enough, I found it. (“Ich habe es aufgetrieben”, if I understood that part correctly.) I am so happy that I came across this site. It has been amazingly helpful in my process of learning German.
Also, I have been appreciating the “random article” feature. Somedays I don’t have a specific question, but typically end up learning something useful with it.
Thanks a lot for the great feedback.
You definitely got the idea of “auftreiben” correct, but I wouldn’t really use it in this context. It has too much of an active element of going somewhere or scouring various stores. Or at least you’re have to scour ebay for something physical.
I’m working on a “random” feature for the dictionary as well :)
Yay! More German randomness.
I’d learnt “übertreiben” to mean “to exaggerate”. So I started encountering the adjective “übertrieben” in senses where it didn’t make sense as “exaggerated”. For example if someone says “Thomas zockt 17 Stunden jeden Tag” and the reply is ” Ich finde das übertrieben”. If you translate this into english as “I think thats an exaggeration” it means you are casting doubt on if 17 hours is actually true. So I’m assuming it also works as “too much” or “excessive” and whether you are implying whether its too much or an exaggeration comes from the context?
Good observation!!
Yes, in this context, I’d understand it as “too much”. You’d specifically indicate that you think the amount stated is an exaggeration.
I think I would say
Cool thanks!
Slightly on topic… my last name is Treiber (paternal grandparents both Austrian) – I’ve always thought romantically of my ancestors having been shepherds or “wanderers” of some type, thoughts?
I’m not an expert on names, but with this one I’m pretty sure you’re correct.
The ancestors were most likely herders of some kind.
Hi Emanuel-
Können bedienen und betreiben austauschbar genutzt werden?
Zum Beispiel:
Wissen Sie, wie man diese Maschine bedient/betreibt?
Vielen Dank
Nicht wirklich, nein.
“bedienen” – handling a device
“betreiben” – “running” something
Bei “betreiben” geht es um eine Aktivität im allgemeinen oder ein Business.
Dieses Business kann eine Maschine sein, muss aber nicht.
Hilft das :)?
Hallo Emanuel! You said that “betreiben”’s only ever used in a figurative sense nowadays and most commonly in sense of to run as in running a business.
And I’ve seen this word also used with “Sport”, like “Sport betreiben”. Does it mean that “Sport treiben” and “Sport betreiben” are the same? Or “Sport betreiben” means running sport as a business?
Theses following sentences were quoted from DWDS:
oh sry the format is so hässlich ….
I’ll fix it :)
Hmm, that’s interesting. To me “Sport betreiben” doesn’t sound idiomatic, or I would think of it in business terms. Or maybe for professional athletes. But not for some random kids who are in summer camp.
I did a quick check on Google and the phrase “Sport treiben” is more than 10 times more common than “Sport betreiben”, so it’s the safer choice :)
Vielen Dank für die blitzschnelle Beantwortung!!!!
when it becomes Noun, when is it xxxxxtrieb and when is it xxxxtreib? It seems a bit random to me but probably there is some reason behind it? for example relates to Präteritum trieb or Perfekt sein getrieben?
Not sure why I never answered this comment. Sorry for that.
Generally, the noun ending is “-trieb”. I can’t think of any “-treib”-versions, though there might be a couple out there.
das von Ihnen erwähnte Wort “Zeitvertrieb” zum Beispiel:)
Oh yeah, you’re totally right :).
Just to make sure for people skimming the comments (because you actually spelled it wrong)
You could also make “Zeitvertrieb”… that then sounds like a company that ships time.
This is amazing.
I just encountered the word “durchtrieben” but have never seen the verb durchtreiben. Any idea on where its meaning comes from?
Great question (no idea why I only saw that now, after two years).
So I’m not entirely sure, but back in the day “durchtrieben” could also mean “filled with” something, in the sense of some passion or so.
And it could mean “far traveled” with an undertone of “experienced”. And from that one it’s not too far to “knows all dirty tricks”
To “German is Easy” Thanks so much for your comment on “dem Hans seine Frau.” That was my impression too. It was used by educated people who knew the “Schriftsprache,” but spoke local “Mundart” in more informal situations — as you said with friends (and relatives). Thanks again. I’ve always wanted to know.
sorry if this is a stupid question but in “Das Flugzeug musste wegen einem Triebwerkschaden notlanden.” wouldn’t it be “eines Triebwerkschadens”? Or are there also two-way dative/genitive prepositions..?
Germans are at odds about this. Books say that Genitive is more correct but when you look at the realities, that is just nonsense and it can lead to phrasings that are not idiomatic at all.
– wegen dir vs wegen deiner
No German would seriously argue that “wegen deiner” is idiomatic. With personal pronouns it’s definitely the Dative. Using Genitive sounds like you’re acting on a stage.
As for female things, you can’t tell anyway
– wegen der Cola (Dative/Genitive)
and then for the other instance… well, everybody just does what they want. I do anyway and to me Dative feels more natural and sound better (eines Triebwerkschadens) … there’s too much “s” in there :).
Besides, there are studied linguists arguing that Dative is historically correct.
So bottom line… let’s call it a two way thing and say Dative is the safe side.
How about “deinetwegen”, “meinetwegen”, “seinetwegen”, that would be the genitive version of “wegen” + personal pronoun.
Also I would say that the difference between the dative and genitive constructions is the level of German you are speaking. For a highly language conscious person the dative constructions sound bad. “wegen den Bäumen” sends a shiver down my spine and must be “wegen der Bäume”. And also your example “wegen eines Triebwerksschadens” sounds very natural to me. Duden says that in some occasions the dative is better, essentially when genitive just does not work because it would confuse. https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/wegen
Everywhere else dative is, I would not say coloquial but more in the range of, not super perfect. So if you don’t care it is just okay but if you care it is not. Also there is a regional preference in the South to use dative here I think. And this is one of the reasons why “Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod.” got written.
I thoroughly and wholeheartedly despise this book series :). I do. “Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod” was written so Bastian Sick can buy himself a nice Eigentumswohnung.
I get your point but you said “highly language conscious person” … well, I would consider myself to be just that and yet I find “wegen dem Wetter” fine and more pleasant to the ear that “wegen des Wetters”.
As for “meinetwegen” being Genitiv… I wouldn’t be so sure.
Check out this treatment/video
https://www.belleslettres.eu/artikel/wegen-genitiv-dativ.php
I don’t particularly like the guy but in this instance I believe he knows what he is saying. (according to him “meinetwegen” is a Dative)
DATIVE
I have long had a question about a dative construction that seems to fit here. My relatives in Austria use the construction “dem Hans seine Frau” to mean “Hans’ wife” or “der Maria ihr Mann” to mean “Maria’s husband” Is this southern German or just not standard at all? How does it sound to you? Thanks. I’ve long wanted to know, but didn’t know whom to ask.
It’s not standard but it’s not southern either. Berlin knows it and I think the Ruhrgebiet as well. I don’t know any details but I think these structures have been around for longer than one might think and there are some rules for what works and what doesn’t.
I do use the structure from time to time but only with friends. Many people find it sounds uneducated.
Wow, thank you for setting me straight on that. I should not have worded it like that. Maybe: “people who think of themselves as highly language conscious(but not necessarily are)”. :) Anyway, so it is just a thing of what you are used to. Thank you very much, it opened my eyes. I will cut my steak in two before frying it from now on.
Danke …wieder
Thanks for the post….emmanuel eine frage..die worte Konzern in deutsch..ist das ein falsch freund (concern in english)?..und die worte bizarre existiert in deutsch als in englisch?? Danke viel… (Check out the song..above..it is cool)
Ja, Konzern ist ein ganz falscher Freund. Und “bizarr” gibt’s auch in Deutsch und es heißt das gleiche wie in English
Das ist ein cool Lied..von Jamiroquai….Drifting Along=Treiben Lassen…mit lyric ubersutzung. Geniessen Sie
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SUNa0vNrSfE
https://songtextubersetzung.com/jamiroquai/drifting-along-107444.html
Cool!! Super Link, danke :)
Kleine Korrektur:
In Deutsch “Genießen Sie” kann man höchstens in der Werbung sagen. Es ist extrem stark und wird nicht so im Alltag verwendet wie “enjoy”. Das ist ein Fehler, den viele machen, aber “genieß/genießen sie” klingt extrem komisch. Am besten ist “Viel Spaß”
I would agree that a herd is herded or driven rather than led. I also wanted to add that “prey drive” is a good direct translation for “Jagdtrieb”. Really interesting to see the semantic connections of “treiben”. Thanks for the thorough entry!
Maybe in some areas of the world shepherds lead herds out onto meadows, but where I come from cowboys drive or move herds and there are cattle drives. I would probably never associate the word herd with lead as a first choice verb. That could just be a regional preference, though. Anyway, thanks so much for your terrific blog. It’s absolutely the best method for learning German I’ve ever come across. Between German is Easy and Easy German on YouTube I’m really beginning to make some progress. Vielen Dank.
Yeah, Easy German is definitely the perfect complement to all the reading here. And they are really lovely people. Thanks for the nice feedback.
I am finding your blogs about the meanings of German words very insightful. They are worth saving. That is why, I believe, some have requested a .PDF version. Are you planning to compile the blogs into a book? This wealth of information should be saved in some permanent format.
I am presently reading the Spiegel E-book “1914-2014: Die unheimliche Aktualität des ersten Weltkrieges.” In it there is the sentence that includes the word umtreiben: “Die Renaissance der Erinnerung an den Ersten Weltkrieg wird von jenem Minderwertigkeitsgefühl genährt, das die Russen seit Jahrhunderten umtreibt.” What does the word umtreibt mean in this contex? Does the translation “drives into a tizzy” fit the bill? Or is that too colloquial? Treiben means “drive;” “um” means “around” with (to me at least) a sense of confusion (“spin around”). Perhaps the less colloquial words such as “plague, pester, annoy, or bother” would be better.
I’ve never heard “driving into a tizzy” but from the sound and the looks of it I would indeed think it’s too colloquial for a context like this. You understood it quite right though. My first thought was “to haunt” but that is too strong. It is “to be one one’s mind constantly creating stress and possibly anxiety”. I think plague might be the best choice. As for the pdf/book… I’m working on a book right now, and when that’s done I’ll think about making a compilation. Some posts here need a do over anyway :).
Ausgezeichnet ! Ausgezeichnet ! Danke !
Question:
If you want to make sure it is a jet engine ( and not
a propeller engine) you are talking about don’t you need
to say ” duesen Triebwek ” ?
Good question, I guess so. But I think the default association for a Triebwerk is a jet engine nowadays, so maybe you’d just specify if that’s not the case. It’s Düsentriebwerk by the way, in one word.
Oh and a bit of trivia: the inventor from Duckburg (gary gearloose) is called Daniel Düsentrieb in German. I like the German name better because it sounds less crazy. I always took him to be quite sane :)
Servus, und danke für alle diesen großartigen Beitrage! Es gibt auch Adjektive wie gasbetrieben und strombetrieben, die nützlich sein können, ich glaube. Was ist mit ihnen?
Die fand ich nicht so wichtig. Aber die passen zu der “run, operate”-Idee von “betreiben”. Danke für die Ergänzung.