Great Expectations — Page 3
A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared, and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.
Ein Mann, der durchnässt war von Wasser und erstickt in Schlamm, lahm geschlagen von Steinen und zerschnitten von Feuersteinen, gestochen von Nesseln und zerrissen von Dornengestrüpp; der hinkte und zitterte, funkelte und knurrte; und dessen Zähne in seinem Kopf klapperten, als er mich am Kinn packte.
I pointed to where our village lay, on the flat in-shore among the alder-trees and pollards, a mile or more from the church.
Ich zeigte dorthin, wo unser Dorf lag, auf dem flachen Uferstreifen zwischen Erlen und Kopfweiden, eine Meile oder mehr von der Kirche entfernt.
The man, after looking at me for a moment, turned me upside down, and emptied my pockets.
Der Mann sah mich einen Augenblick lang an, drehte mich dann auf den Kopf und leerte meine Taschen aus.
There was nothing in them but a piece of bread.
Es befand sich nichts darin außer einem Stück Brot.
When the church came to itself,—for he was so sudden and strong that he made it go head over heels before me, and I saw the steeple under my feet,—when the church came to itself, I say, I was seated on a high tombstone, trembling while he ate the bread ravenously.
Als die Kirche wieder zu sich selbst kam – denn er war so jäh und stark, dass er sie vor meinen Augen überschlagen ließ und ich den Kirchturm unter meinen Füßen sah –, als die Kirche, sage ich, wieder zu sich selbst kam, saß ich auf einem hohen Grabstein und zitterte, während er das Brot gierig verschlang.
I believe they were fat, though I was at that time undersized for my years, and not strong.
Ich glaube, sie waren tatsächlich fett, obwohl ich damals für mein Alter zu klein und nicht kräftig war.
Vocabulary
- Mann
- An adult male person; a man
- durchnässt
- Completely soaked or drenched with water
- Wasser
- The liquid essential for life; water
- erstickt
- Choked, suffocated, or smothered by something
- Schlamm
- Wet, soft, muddy earth; mud or sludge
- lahm
- Unable to walk properly; lame or paralyzed
- geschlagen
- Past participle of schlagen; beaten or struck
- Steinen
- Plural of Stein; rocks or stones
- zerschnitten
- Cut into pieces or slashed repeatedly
- Feuersteinen
- Plural of Feuerstein; sharp flint stones used for cutting
- gestochen
- Pricked or stung by a sharp object or plant
- Nesseln
- Stinging nettles; plants causing skin irritation
- zerrissen
- Torn apart or ripped into pieces
- Dornengestrüpp
- Thorny bushes or tangled briar undergrowth
- hinkte
- Past tense of hinken; walked with a limp
- zitterte
- Past tense of zittern; trembled or shivered
- funkelte
- Past tense of funkeln; sparkled or gleamed intensely
- knurrte
- Past tense of knurren; growled like an animal
- dessen
- Genitive relative pronoun meaning 'whose'
- Zähne
- Plural of Zahn; teeth in a mouth
- Kopf
- The uppermost body part containing the brain; head
- klapperten
- Past tense of klappern; clattered or chattered noisily
- Kinn
- The lower front part of the face; chin
- packte
- Past tense of packen; grabbed or seized firmly
- zeigte
- Past tense of zeigen; pointed or showed something
- dorthin
- Directional adverb meaning 'in that direction; over there'
- Dorf
- A small rural settlement; a village
- lag
- Past tense of liegen; was situated or lying
- flachen
- Adjective meaning flat or level in terrain
- Uferstreifen
- A narrow strip of land along a riverbank
- zwischen
- Preposition meaning 'between' two or more things
- Erlen
- Plural of Erle; alder trees common near water
- Kopfweiden
- Plural of Kopfweide; pollarded willow trees near water
- Meile
- A unit of distance; a mile
- Kirche
- A Christian place of worship; a church
- entfernt
- Adjective or past participle meaning distant or removed
- sah
- Past tense of sehen; saw or looked at
- Augenblick
- A brief moment in time; an instant
- drehte
- Past tense of drehen; turned or rotated something
- leerte
- Past tense of leeren; emptied out completely
- Taschen
- Plural of Tasche; pockets or bags
- befand
- Past tense of befinden; was located or found
- nichts
- Indefinite pronoun meaning nothing at all
- darin
- Adverb meaning 'in it' or 'inside thereof'
- außer
- Preposition meaning 'except' or 'apart from'
- Stück
- A portion or piece of something larger
- Brot
- Baked food made from flour and water; bread
- wieder
- Adverb meaning again or once more
- selbst
- Reflexive intensifier meaning 'self' or 'even'
- kam
- Past tense of kommen; came or arrived
- denn
- Conjunction or particle meaning 'because' or 'then'
- jäh
- Adjective meaning sudden, abrupt, or precipitous
- stark
- Adjective meaning strong, powerful, or intense
- Augen
- Plural of Auge; the organs of sight; eyes
- überschlagen
- To somersault, flip over, or skip; turned upside down
- ließ
- Past tense of lassen; let, allowed, or caused
- Kirchturm
- The tower of a church; a church steeple
- Füßen
- Dative plural of Fuß; feet or bases
- saß
- Past tense of sitzen; was sitting or seated
- hohen
- Inflected form of hoch; tall or high (adjective)
- Grabstein
- A stone marker placed on a grave; gravestone
- während
- Conjunction or preposition meaning 'while' or 'during'
- gierig
- Adjective meaning greedy or voraciously eager
- verschlang
- Past tense of verschlingen; devoured or swallowed greedily
- glaube
- First person present of glauben; I believe or think
- tatsächlich
- Adverb meaning actually, indeed, or in reality
- fett
- Adjective meaning fat, plump, or greasy
- obwohl
- Subordinating conjunction meaning although or even though
- damals
- Adverb referring to a past time; back then
- Alter
- Age of a person or the state of being old
- klein
- Adjective meaning small or little in size
- kräftig
- Adjective meaning strong, robust, or powerfully built
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