Crime and Punishment — Page 6
This house was let out in tiny tenements and was inhabited by working people of all kinds--tailors, locksmiths, cooks, Germans of sorts, girls picking up a living as best they could, petty clerks, etc.
Dieses Haus war in kleine Mietwohnungen aufgeteilt und wurde von Werktätigen aller Art bewohnt – Schneidern, Schlossern, Köchen, allerlei Deutschen, Mädchen, die sich so gut wie möglich ihren Lebensunterhalt verdienten, kleinen Beamten usw.
There was a continual coming and going through the two gates and in the two courtyards of the house.
Durch die zwei Tore und in den zwei Höfen des Hauses herrschte ein ständiges Kommen und Gehen.
Three or four door-keepers were employed on the building.
Drei oder vier Hausmeister waren in dem Gebäude angestellt.
The young man was very glad to meet none of them, and at once slipped unnoticed through the door on the right, and up the staircase.
Der junge Mann war sehr froh, keinem von ihnen zu begegnen, und schlüpfte sogleich unbemerkt durch die Tür auf der rechten Seite und die Treppe hinauf.
It was a back staircase, dark and narrow, but he was familiar with it already, and knew his way, and he liked all these surroundings: in such darkness even the most inquisitive eyes were not to be dreaded.
Es war eine Hintertreppe, dunkel und eng, aber er kannte sie bereits und wusste, wohin sie führte, und er mochte all diese Umgebung: In solcher Dunkelheit waren selbst die neugierigsten Augen nicht zu fürchten.
There his progress was barred by some porters who were engaged in moving furniture out of a flat.
Dort wurde sein Weg von einigen Trägern versperrt, die damit beschäftigt waren, Möbel aus einer Wohnung zu schaffen.
He knew that the flat had been occupied by a German clerk in the civil service, and his family.
Er wusste, dass die Wohnung von einem deutschen Beamten im Staatsdienst und seiner Familie bewohnt worden war.
This German was moving out then, and so the fourth floor on this staircase would be untenanted except by the old woman.
Dieser Deutsche zog also gerade aus, und so würde das vierte Stockwerk dieses Treppenhauses unbewohnt sein, außer von der alten Frau.
Vocabulary
- Haus
- A building where people live; a house
- war
- Past tense of 'sein'; was
- kleine
- Small, little (adjective, inflected form)
- Mietwohnungen
- Rental apartments or flats available for rent
- aufgeteilt
- Divided up or split into separate parts
- wurde
- Past passive auxiliary; was (used to form passive)
- Werktätigen
- Working people, laborers, or employed persons
- aller
- Of all kinds; genitive plural of 'alle'
- Art
- Kind, type, or sort of something
- bewohnt
- Inhabited or occupied by residents
- Schneidern
- Tailors; people who make or alter clothing
- Schlossern
- Locksmiths or metalworkers who work with locks
- Köchen
- Cooks; people who professionally prepare food
- allerlei
- All sorts of; a variety of different things
- Deutschen
- Germans; people of German nationality or origin
- Mädchen
- Girls or young women; female children
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun meaning themselves, oneself
- gut
- Good; of high quality or satisfactory standard
- möglich
- Possible; able to happen or be done
- Lebensunterhalt
- Livelihood; money earned to support daily living
- verdienten
- Earned (money or wages); past tense of verdienen
- Beamten
- Civil servants or government officials
- usw
- Abbreviation for 'und so weiter'; et cetera, and so on
- Durch
- Preposition meaning through or across
- Tore
- Gates or large doorways leading into a building
- Höfen
- Courtyards or inner yards of a building
- herrschte
- Prevailed or reigned; past tense of herrschen
- ständiges
- Constant, continual, perpetual (neuter adjective form)
- Hausmeister
- Building caretakers or janitors managing a property
- Gebäude
- Building or structure used for various purposes
- angestellt
- Employed or hired to work at a place
- junge
- Young; of a relatively early age
- Mann
- Man; an adult male person
- froh
- Glad, happy, or pleased about something
- keinem
- None, not one (dative masculine/neuter of kein)
- begegnen
- To meet or encounter someone by chance
- schlüpfte
- Slipped or sneaked; past tense of schlüpfen
- sogleich
- Immediately, at once, right away
- unbemerkt
- Unnoticed, without being seen or detected
- Tür
- Door; an entrance or exit panel in a frame
- rechten
- Right (direction); on the right side
- Seite
- Side or page; one surface or direction
- Treppe
- Staircase or flight of stairs in a building
- hinauf
- Up, upward; directional adverb toward a higher place
- Hintertreppe
- Back staircase at the rear of a building
- dunkel
- Dark; having little or no light
- eng
- Narrow, tight, or cramped in space
- kannte
- Knew (a person or place); past tense of kennen
- bereits
- Already; having happened before the present time
- wusste
- Knew (a fact); past tense of wissen
- wohin
- Where to; asking or stating a destination
- führte
- Led or guided; past tense of führen
- mochte
- Liked or might; past tense of mögen
- Umgebung
- Surroundings, environment, or surrounding area
- solcher
- Such, of this kind (masculine genitive adjective form)
- Dunkelheit
- Darkness; the state of having no light
- selbst
- Even or oneself; emphatic particle or reflexive reference
- neugierigsten
- Most curious or nosiest (superlative of neugierig)
- Augen
- Eyes; the organs used for seeing
- fürchten
- To fear or be afraid of something
- Weg
- Way, path, or road to a destination
- einigen
- Some, a few (dative plural form of einige)
- Trägern
- Carriers or porters who transport heavy objects
- versperrt
- Blocked or barred; obstructing passage or access
- damit
- With it, so that; conjunction or adverb
- beschäftigt
- Busy or occupied with a task or activity
- Möbel
- Furniture; movable objects used to furnish a room
- Wohnung
- Apartment or dwelling where someone lives
- schaffen
- To carry away, manage, or create something
- Staatsdienst
- Civil service; employment working for the state government
- Familie
- Family; a group of related people living together
- worden
- Become; past participle used in passive constructions
- zog
- Moved out or pulled; past tense of ziehen
- also
- So, therefore, thus; indicating a conclusion
- gerade
- Just, straight, right now; at this moment
- würde
- Would; conditional form of werden
- vierte
- Fourth; the ordinal number following third
- Stockwerk
- Floor or story of a multi-level building
- Treppenhauses
- Of the stairwell; genitive form of Treppenhaus
- unbewohnt
- Uninhabited or unoccupied; without anyone living there
- außer
- Except for, besides, other than someone or something
- Frau
- Woman or wife; an adult female person
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →