Cranford — Page 4
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"You must keep thinking about the time, my dear, and not allow yourself to forget it in conversation."
„Sie müssen stets an die Zeit denken, meine Liebe, und nicht zulassen, dass Sie diese im Gespräch vergessen."
As everybody had this rule in their minds, whether they received or paid a call, of course no absorbing subject was ever spoken about.
Da alle diese Regel im Sinn hatten, ob sie nun einen Besuch empfingen oder abstatteten, wurde natürlich niemals ein fesselndes Thema angesprochen.
We kept ourselves to short sentences of small talk, and were punctual to our time.
Wir beschränkten uns auf kurze Sätze aus belanglosem Geplauder und waren pünktlich auf die Minute.
I imagine that a few of the gentlefolks of Cranford were poor, and had some difficulty in making both ends meet; but they were like the Spartans, and concealed their smart under a smiling face.
Ich nehme an, dass einige der feinen Leute von Cranford arm waren und einige Schwierigkeiten hatten, über die Runden zu kommen; aber sie glichen den Spartanern und verbargen ihren Schmerz hinter einem lächelnden Gesicht.
We none of us spoke of money, because that subject savoured of commerce and trade, and though some might be poor, we were all aristocratic.
Niemand von uns sprach über Geld, weil dieses Thema nach Handel und Gewerbe roch, und obwohl manche arm sein mochten, waren wir alle aristokratisch.
The Cranfordians had that kindly esprit de corps which made them overlook all deficiencies in success when some among them tried to conceal their poverty.
Die Cranfordianer besaßen jenen freundlichen Gemeinschaftsgeist, der sie alle Mängel an Erfolg übersehen ließ, wenn einige unter ihnen versuchten, ihre Armut zu verbergen.
Vocabulary
- „
- German opening quotation mark, equivalent to English quote
- Sie
- Formal 'you,' used respectfully addressing someone
- müssen
- Modal verb meaning 'must' or 'to have to'
- stets
- Always, at all times, continuously
- an
- Preposition meaning 'at,' 'on,' or 'to'
- die
- Definite article 'the' for feminine or plural nouns
- Zeit
- Time; the measured or passing duration of events
- denken
- To think, to consider something mentally
- meine
- Possessive pronoun 'my,' feminine or plural form
- Liebe
- Love; deep affection toward a person or thing
- und
- Conjunction meaning 'and,' connecting words or clauses
- nicht
- Negation word meaning 'not'
- zulassen
- To allow, permit, or let something happen
- dass
- Conjunction meaning 'that,' introducing a subordinate clause
- diese
- Demonstrative pronoun 'this' or 'these'
- im
- Contraction of 'in dem,' meaning 'in the'
- Gespräch
- Conversation, a spoken exchange between people
- vergessen
- To forget, to fail to remember something
- Da
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'since,' 'there,' or 'as'
- alle
- All, every, referring to an entire group
- Regel
- Rule, a principle or guideline governing behavior
- Sinn
- Sense, meaning, or purpose of something
- hatten
- Past tense of 'haben,' meaning 'had'
- ob
- Conjunction meaning 'whether,' introducing indirect questions
- sie
- Pronoun 'she,' 'they,' or informal 'you'
- nun
- Now, at this point in time or argument
- einen
- Indefinite article 'a' in accusative masculine form
- Besuch
- Visit; the act of going to see someone
- empfingen
- Past tense of 'empfangen,' meaning 'received' or 'welcomed'
- oder
- Conjunction meaning 'or,' presenting an alternative
- abstatteten
- Past tense of 'abstatten,' to pay or make a visit
- wurde
- Past tense of 'werden,' meaning 'became' or 'was'
- natürlich
- Naturally, of course, as expected
- niemals
- Never, at no time whatsoever
- ein
- Indefinite article 'a' or 'an' in German
- fesselndes
- Captivating, gripping, holding one's attention completely
- Thema
- Topic or subject being discussed or examined
- angesprochen
- Past participle of 'ansprechen,' meaning addressed or raised
- Wir
- Pronoun 'we,' referring to a group including speaker
- beschränkten
- Past tense of 'beschränken,' meaning limited or restricted
- uns
- Reflexive/accusative pronoun 'us' or 'ourselves'
- auf
- Preposition meaning 'on,' 'upon,' or 'to'
- kurze
- Short, brief in length or duration
- Sätze
- Sentences or phrases in written or spoken language
- aus
- Preposition meaning 'out of,' 'from,' or 'made of'
- belanglosem
- Trivial, insignificant, of little importance or consequence
- Geplauder
- Chitchat, light informal conversation about minor topics
- waren
- Past tense of 'sein,' meaning 'were'
- pünktlich
- Punctual, arriving or doing something exactly on time
- Minute
- Minute, a unit of time equal to sixty seconds
- Ich
- First-person singular pronoun 'I'
- nehme
- First-person present of 'nehmen,' meaning 'take' or 'assume'
- einige
- Some, a few, referring to an unspecified small number
- der
- Definite article 'the' in various grammatical cases
- feinen
- Fine, refined, elegant in manner or quality
- Leute
- People, a group of persons in general
- von
- Preposition meaning 'of,' 'from,' or 'by'
- arm
- Poor, lacking sufficient money or resources
- Schwierigkeiten
- Difficulties, problems or challenges faced in life
- über
- Preposition meaning 'over,' 'about,' or 'across'
- Runden
- Rounds; here figuratively making ends meet financially
- zu
- Preposition or infinitive marker meaning 'to'
- kommen
- To come, to arrive at a place or state
- aber
- Conjunction meaning 'but,' introducing a contrast
- glichen
- Past tense of 'gleichen,' meaning resembled or were alike
- den
- Definite article 'the' in dative plural or accusative masculine
- verbargen
- Past tense of 'verbergen,' meaning concealed or hid
- ihren
- Possessive pronoun 'their' in accusative form
- Schmerz
- Pain, physical or emotional suffering
- hinter
- Preposition meaning 'behind' or 'beyond'
- einem
- Indefinite article 'a' in dative masculine or neuter form
- lächelnden
- Smiling, bearing a cheerful expression on one's face
- Gesicht
- Face, the front part of a person's head
- Niemand
- Nobody, no one, not any person
- sprach
- Past tense of 'sprechen,' meaning 'spoke'
- Geld
- Money, currency used for buying and selling
- weil
- Conjunction meaning 'because,' giving a reason
- dieses
- Demonstrative pronoun 'this' in genitive or neuter form
- nach
- Preposition meaning 'after,' 'to,' or 'according to'
- Handel
- Trade, commerce, buying and selling of goods
- Gewerbe
- Trade or industry, a commercial or craft occupation
- roch
- Past tense of 'riechen,' meaning 'smelled' of something
- obwohl
- Although, even though, introducing a concessive clause
- manche
- Some, many a, referring to an indefinite number
- sein
- To be; also possessive pronoun 'his' or 'its'
- mochten
- Past tense of 'mögen,' meaning liked or might have been
- wir
- Pronoun 'we,' referring to a group including speaker
- aristokratisch
- Aristocratic, relating to or typical of the nobility
- Die
- Definite article 'the' for feminine or plural nouns
- besaßen
- Past tense of 'besitzen,' meaning possessed or owned
- jenen
- Demonstrative pronoun 'that' in dative or accusative form
- freundlichen
- Friendly, kind, warm in attitude toward others
- Gemeinschaftsgeist
- Community spirit, sense of solidarity and mutual support
- Mängel
- Deficiencies, flaws, or shortcomings in someone or something
- Erfolg
- Success, a positive outcome or achievement
- übersehen
- To overlook, ignore, or fail to notice something
- ließ
- Past tense of 'lassen,' meaning let, allowed, or caused
- wenn
- Conjunction meaning 'when' or 'if' in conditional clauses
- unter
- Preposition meaning 'under,' 'among,' or 'below'
- ihnen
- Dative pronoun 'them' or formal 'you' (Sie)
- versuchten
- Past tense of 'versuchen,' meaning tried or attempted
- ihre
- Possessive pronoun 'their' or 'her' in nominative form
- Armut
- Poverty, the state of being very poor
- verbergen
- To hide, conceal, or keep something out of sight
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