Great Expectations — Page 1

English → De Chapter II. Level 8/10

My sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery, was more than twenty years older than I, and had established a great reputation with herself and the neighbours because she had brought me up "by hand."

Meine Schwester, Mrs. Joe Gargery, war mehr als zwanzig Jahre älter als ich und hatte sich bei sich selbst und den Nachbarn einen großen Ruf erworben, weil sie mich „mit der Hand" großgezogen hatte.

Having at that time to find out for myself what the expression meant, and knowing her to have a hard and heavy hand, and to be much in the habit of laying it upon her husband as well as upon me, I supposed that Joe Gargery and I were both brought up by hand.

Da ich damals selbst herausfinden musste, was der Ausdruck bedeutete, und da ich wusste, dass sie eine harte und schwere Hand hatte und es sich sehr angewöhnt hatte, diese sowohl auf ihren Mann als auch auf mich zu legen, nahm ich an, dass Joe Gargery und ich beide mit der Hand großgezogen worden waren.

She was not a good-looking woman, my sister; and I had a general impression that she must have made Joe Gargery marry her by hand.

Sie war keine gutaussehende Frau, meine Schwester; und ich hatte den allgemeinen Eindruck, dass sie Joe Gargery mit der Hand zur Heirat gezwungen haben musste.

Joe was a fair man, with curls of flaxen hair on each side of his smooth face, and with eyes of such a very undecided blue that they seemed to have somehow got mixed with their own whites.

Joe war ein hellhäutiger Mann mit flachsblonden Locken auf jeder Seite seines glatten Gesichts und mit Augen von einem so unentschiedenen Blau, dass sie sich irgendwie mit ihrem eigenen Weiß vermischt zu haben schienen.

He was a mild, good-natured, sweet-tempered, easy-going, foolish, dear fellow,—a sort of Hercules in strength, and also in weakness.

Er war ein sanfter, gutmütiger, liebenswürdiger, gelassener, törichter, lieber Kerl – eine Art Herkules an Stärke und auch an Schwäche.

My sister, Mrs. Joe, with black hair and eyes, had such a prevailing redness of skin that I sometimes used to wonder whether it was possible she washed herself with a nutmeg-grater instead of soap.

Meine Schwester, Mrs. Joe, mit schwarzem Haar und schwarzen Augen, hatte eine so ausgeprägte Röte der Haut, dass ich mich manchmal fragte, ob es möglich sei, dass sie sich mit einer Muskatnussreibe statt mit Seife wusch.

She was tall and bony, and almost always wore a coarse apron, fastened over her figure behind with two loops, and having a square impregnable bib in front, that was stuck full of pins and needles.

Sie war groß und knochig und trug fast immer eine grobe Schürze, die hinten mit zwei Schlaufen über ihrer Gestalt befestigt war und vorne ein viereckiges, uneinnehmbar wirkendes Latz hatte, das voller Stecknadeln und Nähnadeln steckte.

Vocabulary

Meine: Possessive pronoun meaning 'my' (feminine/plural).
Schwester: Female sibling; sister.
war: Past tense of 'sein'; was.
mehr: More; greater in quantity or degree.
als: Than; also used as 'as' or 'when'.
zwanzig: The number twenty.
Jahre: Years; plural of Jahr.
älter: Older; comparative form of alt.
ich: First person singular pronoun; I.
und: Coordinating conjunction meaning 'and'.
hatte: Past tense of 'haben'; had.
sich: Reflexive pronoun; herself, himself, itself.
bei: Preposition meaning 'with', 'near', or 'among'.
selbst: Herself/himself/itself; even; emphasizing pronoun.
den: Definite article, accusative/dative plural masculine.
Nachbarn: Neighbors; plural of Nachbar.
einen: Indefinite article, accusative masculine; a/an.
großen: Great, large; inflected form of groß.
Ruf: Reputation; also a call or shout.
erworben: Acquired, earned; past participle of erwerben.
weil: Subordinating conjunction meaning 'because'.
sie: She, they, or formal 'you' depending on context.
mich: Accusative form of 'ich'; me.
mit: Preposition meaning 'with'.
der: Definite article or relative pronoun; the.
Hand: Hand; the body part at the end of the arm.
großgezogen: Raised, brought up; past participle of großziehen.
Da: There, then, since; context-dependent adverb/conjunction.
damals: At that time, back then; past time reference.
herausfinden: To find out, to discover something.
musste: Past tense of 'müssen'; had to, was required to.
was: What; interrogative or relative pronoun.
Ausdruck: Expression, term, phrase; a word or gesture.
bedeutete: Meant; past tense of bedeuten.
da: There, here, since; adverb or conjunction.
wusste: Knew; past tense of wissen.
dass: That; subordinating conjunction introducing a clause.
eine: Indefinite article, feminine nominative; a/an.
harte: Hard, harsh; inflected form of hart.
schwere: Heavy, difficult; inflected form of schwer.
es: It; neuter third person pronoun.
sehr: Very, much; intensifying adverb.
angewöhnt: Accustomed to; past participle of angewöhnen.
diese: This, these; demonstrative pronoun/adjective.
sowohl: Both; used in 'sowohl…als auch' (both…and).
auf: On, onto, upon; preposition of position or direction.
ihren: Her, their; accusative possessive pronoun.
Mann: Man, husband; adult male person.
auch: Also, too, as well; additive adverb.
zu: To, too, at; preposition or infinitive particle.
legen: To lay, to place something down.
nahm: Took; past tense of nehmen.
an: On, at, to; preposition indicating position or direction.
beide: Both; referring to two people or things.
worden: Past participle of werden used in passive constructions.
waren: Were; past tense plural of 'sein'.
Sie: She, they, or formal 'you'; context-dependent pronoun.
keine: No, not a, none; negating article/pronoun.
gutaussehende: Good-looking, attractive; adjective describing appearance.
Frau: Woman, wife, or Mrs.; adult female person.
meine: My; first person possessive adjective.
allgemeinen: General, common; inflected form of allgemein.
Eindruck: Impression; the effect something makes on someone.
zur: Contraction of zu der; to the (feminine).
Heirat: Marriage, wedding; the act of marrying.
gezwungen: Forced, compelled; past participle of zwingen.
haben: To have; auxiliary and main verb.
ein: Indefinite article, masculine/neuter nominative; a/an.
hellhäutiger: Light-skinned, fair-complexioned; describing skin tone.
flachsblonden: Flaxen-blonde, light golden-colored; describing hair.
Locken: Curls, ringlets; wavy or spiral strands of hair.
jeder: Each, every; indefinite adjective/pronoun.
Seite: Side, page; one of two lateral aspects.
seines: His, its; genitive possessive pronoun.
glatten: Smooth, sleek; inflected form of glatt.
Gesichts: Face; genitive of Gesicht.
Augen: Eyes; plural of Auge.
von: Of, from, by; common German preposition.
einem: Indefinite article, dative masculine/neuter; a/an.
so: So, such, thus; adverb of degree or manner.
unentschiedenen: Undecided, indeterminate; inflected form of unentschieden.
Blau: Blue; the color blue.
irgendwie: Somehow, in some way; vague manner adverb.
ihrem: Her, their; dative possessive pronoun.
eigenen: Own; inflected form of eigen.
Weiß: White; the color white.
vermischt: Mixed, blended; past participle of vermischen.
schienen: Seemed, appeared; past tense plural of scheinen.
Er: He; third person masculine singular pronoun.
sanfter: Gentler, softer; comparative of sanft.
gutmütiger: More good-natured, kinder; comparative of gutmütig.
liebenswürdiger: More amiable, more charming; comparative of liebenswürdig.
gelassener: Calmer, more composed; comparative of gelassen.
törichter: More foolish, sillier; comparative of töricht.
lieber: Dearer, rather; comparative of lieb or adverb.
Kerl: Fellow, guy, bloke; informal word for a man.
Art: Type, kind, sort; a way or manner of being.
Stärke: Strength, power; physical or mental force.
Schwäche: Weakness, frailty; lack of strength or resolve.
schwarzem: Black; dative inflected form of schwarz.
Haar: Hair; strands growing from the head.
schwarzen: Black; accusative/dative inflected form of schwarz.
ausgeprägte: Pronounced, distinct; inflected form of ausgeprägt.
Röte: Redness, ruddiness; red coloring of the skin.
Haut: Skin; the outer covering of the body.
manchmal: Sometimes, occasionally; not always but at times.
fragte: Asked, wondered; past tense of fragen.
ob: Whether, if; subordinating conjunction for indirect questions.
möglich: Possible; capable of happening or existing.
sei: Subjunctive of sein; be (indirect speech/doubt).
einer: A, one; indefinite article/pronoun, dative feminine.
statt: Instead of; preposition indicating substitution.
Seife: Soap; a cleansing substance.
wusch: Washed; past tense of waschen.
groß: Big, tall, great; adjective describing large size.
knochig: Bony, angular; having prominent bones.
trug: Wore, carried; past tense of tragen.
fast: Almost, nearly; adverb of approximation.
immer: Always, ever; indicating constant occurrence.
grobe: Coarse, rough; inflected form of grob.
Schürze: Apron; a protective garment worn over clothing.
die: Definite article feminine/plural or relative pronoun; the.
hinten: At the back, behind; positional adverb.
zwei: Two; the number 2.
Schlaufen: Loops, straps; loops used for fastening or hanging.
über: Over, above, about; versatile preposition.
ihrer: Her, their; genitive/dative possessive pronoun.
Gestalt: Figure, form, shape; the overall appearance of a person.
befestigt: Fastened, attached; past participle of befestigen.
vorne: In front, at the front; positional adverb.
viereckiges: Square, rectangular; inflected form of viereckig.
uneinnehmbar: Impregnable, unconquerable; impossible to capture or overcome.
wirkendes: Appearing, seeming; inflected participle of wirken.
Latz: Bib, front panel; the front piece of an apron.
das: The; definite article neuter or relative pronoun.
voller: Full of; inflected or independent form of voll.
Stecknadeln: Pins; straight pins used in sewing.
Nähnadeln: Sewing needles; needles used for stitching fabric.
steckte: Stuck, was placed; past tense of stecken.

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