The Brothers Karamazov — Page 1
Fyodor Pavlovitch Karamazov
Fjodor Pawlowitsch Karamasow
Alexey Fyodorovitch Karamazov was the third son of Fyodor Pavlovitch Karamazov, a land owner well known in our district in his own day, and still remembered among us owing to his gloomy and tragic death, which happened thirteen years ago, and which I shall describe in its proper place.
Alexej Fjodorowitsch Karamasow war der dritte Sohn Fjodor Pawlowitsch Karamasows, eines Gutsbesitzers, der zu seiner Zeit in unserem Bezirk wohlbekannt war und noch heute bei uns in Erinnerung geblieben ist wegen seines düsteren und tragischen Todes, der sich vor dreizehn Jahren ereignete und den ich an geeigneter Stelle beschreiben werde.
For the present I will only say that this "landowner"—for so we used to call him, although he hardly spent a day of his life on his own estate—was a strange type, yet one pretty frequently to be met with, a type abject and vicious and at the same time senseless.
Für jetzt will ich nur sagen, dass dieser „Gutsbesitzer" – denn so pflegten wir ihn zu nennen, obwohl er kaum einen Tag seines Lebens auf seinem eigenen Gut verbrachte – ein seltsamer Typus war, jedoch einer, dem man recht häufig begegnet, ein Typus, der niederträchtig und lasterhaft und zugleich sinnlos war.
But he was one of those senseless persons who are very well capable of looking after their worldly affairs, and, apparently, after nothing else.
Aber er war einer jener sinnlosen Menschen, die sehr wohl in der Lage sind, ihre weltlichen Angelegenheiten zu regeln, und anscheinend nichts anderes.
Fyodor Pavlovitch, for instance, began with next to nothing; his estate was of the smallest; he ran to dine at other men's tables, and fastened on them as a toady, yet at his death it appeared that he had a hundred thousand roubles in hard cash.
Fjodor Pawlowitsch zum Beispiel begann mit fast nichts; sein Gut war von der kleinsten Art; er lief zu anderen Leuten an den Tisch und heftete sich als Schmarotzer an sie, und doch stellte sich bei seinem Tod heraus, dass er hunderttausend Rubel in barem Geld besaß.
At the same time, he was all his life one of the most senseless, fantastical fellows in the whole district.
Gleichzeitig war er sein ganzes Leben lang einer der sinnlosesten und phantastischsten Kerle im ganzen Bezirk.
I repeat, it was not stupidity—the majority of these fantastical fellows are shrewd and intelligent enough—but just senselessness, and a peculiar national form of it.
Ich wiederhole, es war keine Dummheit – die Mehrheit dieser phantastischen Kerle ist schlau und intelligent genug –, sondern schlicht Sinnlosigkeit, und zwar in einer eigentümlich nationalen Form davon.
He was married twice, and had three sons, the eldest, Dmitri, by his first wife, and two, Ivan and Alexey, by his second.
Er war zweimal verheiratet und hatte drei Söhne: den ältesten, Dmitri, von seiner ersten Frau, und zwei, Iwan und Alexej, von seiner zweiten.
Vocabulary
- war
- Past tense of sein; was
- der
- Definite article or relative pronoun; the
- dritte
- Ordinal number meaning third
- Sohn
- Male offspring; son
- eines
- Indefinite article in genitive; of a
- Gutsbesitzers
- Genitive of Gutsbesitzer; of a landowner
- zu
- Preposition meaning at, to, or in
- seiner
- Possessive pronoun, genitive; of his
- Zeit
- Noun meaning time or era
- in
- Preposition indicating location or time; in
- unserem
- Dative form of our
- Bezirk
- Administrative or geographic district or region
- wohlbekannt
- Widely or well known to many people
- und
- Coordinating conjunction meaning and
- noch
- Adverb meaning still or yet
- heute
- Adverb meaning today or currently
- bei
- Preposition meaning at, near, or among
- uns
- First person plural pronoun; us or among us
- Erinnerung
- Memory or recollection of past events
- geblieben
- Past participle of bleiben; remained or stayed
- ist
- Third person singular of sein; is
- wegen
- Preposition meaning because of or due to
- seines
- Genitive possessive pronoun; of his
- düsteren
- Adjective meaning gloomy, dark, or sinister
- tragischen
- Adjective meaning tragic or catastrophic
- Todes
- Genitive of Tod; of death
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun meaning himself, herself, or itself
- vor
- Preposition meaning before, ago, or in front of
- dreizehn
- Cardinal number meaning thirteen
- Jahren
- Dative plural of Jahr; years ago
- ereignete
- Past tense of ereignen; occurred or took place
- den
- Accusative definite article or relative pronoun; the
- ich
- First person singular subject pronoun; I
- an
- Preposition meaning at, on, or to
- geeigneter
- Adjective meaning suitable or appropriate
- Stelle
- Noun meaning place, passage, or spot
- beschreiben
- Verb meaning to describe or depict something
- werde
- Future auxiliary verb form; will
- Für
- Preposition meaning for or in favor of
- jetzt
- Adverb meaning now or at this moment
- will
- First person singular of wollen; want or intend
- nur
- Adverb meaning only or just
- sagen
- Verb meaning to say or tell something
- dass
- Subordinating conjunction meaning that
- dieser
- Demonstrative pronoun or adjective; this
- Gutsbesitzer
- Noun meaning landowner or estate owner
- denn
- Conjunction meaning because or for
- so
- Adverb meaning so, thus, or in this way
- pflegten
- Past tense of pflegen; used to or customarily did
- wir
- First person plural pronoun; we
- ihn
- Accusative third person singular pronoun; him
- nennen
- Verb meaning to call or name someone
- obwohl
- Subordinating conjunction meaning although or even though
- er
- Third person singular pronoun; he
- kaum
- Adverb meaning barely, hardly, or scarcely
- einen
- Accusative indefinite article; a or one
- Tag
- Noun meaning day
- Lebens
- Genitive of Leben; of life
- auf
- Preposition meaning on, upon, or at
- seinem
- Dative possessive pronoun; on his
- eigenen
- Adjective meaning own or personal
- Gut
- Noun meaning estate, property, or good
- verbrachte
- Past tense of verbringen; spent time somewhere
- ein
- Indefinite article or numeral; a or one
- seltsamer
- Adjective meaning strange or peculiar
- Typus
- Noun meaning type or characteristic kind of person
- jedoch
- Adverb or conjunction meaning however or yet
- einer
- Genitive or pronoun form; of one or a certain one
- dem
- Dative definite article or relative pronoun; the
- man
- Indefinite pronoun meaning one or you generally
- recht
- Adverb meaning quite, fairly, or rather
- häufig
- Adjective or adverb meaning frequent or often
- begegnet
- Verb form of begegnen; encounters or meets someone
- niederträchtig
- Adjective meaning despicable, vile, or base
- lasterhaft
- Adjective meaning vicious, depraved, or dissolute
- zugleich
- Adverb meaning at the same time or simultaneously
- sinnlos
- Adjective meaning senseless, pointless, or absurd
- Aber
- Coordinating conjunction meaning but or however
- jener
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning that or those
- sinnlosen
- Adjective in genitive/dative form; of senseless
- Menschen
- Plural of Mensch; people or human beings
- die
- Definite article or relative pronoun; the or who
- sehr
- Adverb meaning very or greatly
- wohl
- Adverb meaning well, indeed, or probably
- Lage
- Noun meaning situation, position, or condition
- sind
- Third person plural of sein; are
- ihre
- Possessive pronoun meaning their or her
- weltlichen
- Adjective meaning worldly, secular, or mundane
- Angelegenheiten
- Plural noun meaning affairs, matters, or concerns
- regeln
- Verb meaning to regulate, manage, or settle
- anscheinend
- Adverb meaning apparently or seemingly
- nichts
- Pronoun meaning nothing at all
- anderes
- Pronoun or adjective meaning something else or other
- zum
- Contraction of zu dem; to the or at the
- Beispiel
- Noun meaning example; zum Beispiel means for example
- begann
- Past tense of beginnen; began or started
- mit
- Preposition meaning with or by
- fast
- Adverb meaning almost or nearly
- sein
- Possessive adjective meaning his, or infinitive to be
- von
- Preposition meaning from, of, or by
- kleinsten
- Superlative of klein; smallest or tiniest
- Art
- Noun meaning type, kind, manner, or nature
- lief
- Past tense of laufen; ran or went around
- anderen
- Adjective or pronoun meaning other or others
- Leuten
- Dative plural of Leute; to or among people
- Tisch
- Noun meaning table
- heftete
- Past tense of heften; attached or latched onto
- als
- Conjunction meaning as, than, or when
- Schmarotzer
- Noun meaning parasite, freeloader, or sponger
- sie
- Third person pronoun; she, they, or them
- doch
- Particle meaning yet, still, or after all
- stellte
- Past tense of stellen; placed or turned out
- Tod
- Noun meaning death
- heraus
- Separable prefix or adverb meaning out or turned out
- hunderttausend
- Cardinal number meaning one hundred thousand
- barem
- Adjective in dative; cash or liquid money
- Geld
- Noun meaning money
- Gleichzeitig
- Adverb meaning simultaneously or at the same time
- ganzes
- Adjective meaning whole or entire
- Leben
- Noun meaning life
- lang
- Adjective or adverb meaning long or for a long time
- sinnlosesten
- Superlative of sinnlos; most senseless or absurd
- phantastischsten
- Superlative of phantastisch; most fantastic or bizarre
- Kerle
- Plural of Kerl; fellows, guys, or characters
- im
- Contraction of in dem; in the
- ganzen
- Adjective in dative; whole or entire
- Ich
- First person singular subject pronoun; I
- wiederhole
- First person of wiederholen; I repeat or reiterate
- es
- Third person neuter pronoun; it
- keine
- Negative article meaning no or not a
- Dummheit
- Noun meaning stupidity or foolishness
- Mehrheit
- Noun meaning majority or greater part
- phantastischen
- Adjective in genitive; of the fantastic or bizarre
- schlau
- Adjective meaning clever, cunning, or shrewd
- intelligent
- Adjective meaning intelligent or smart
- genug
- Adverb meaning enough or sufficiently
- sondern
- Conjunction meaning but rather or on the contrary
- schlicht
- Adjective meaning plain, simple, or straightforward
- Sinnlosigkeit
- Noun meaning senselessness, absurdity, or pointlessness
- zwar
- Adverb meaning indeed, admittedly, or to be sure
- eigentümlich
- Adjective meaning peculiar, characteristic, or distinctive
- nationalen
- Adjective in dative; of a national or ethnic nature
- Form
- Noun meaning form, shape, or manner
- davon
- Adverb meaning of it, thereof, or from that
- Er
- Third person singular pronoun; he
- zweimal
- Adverb meaning twice or two times
- verheiratet
- Adjective meaning married
- hatte
- Past tense of haben; had
- drei
- Cardinal number meaning three
- Söhne
- Plural of Sohn; sons
- ältesten
- Superlative of alt in dative; eldest or oldest
- ersten
- Ordinal adjective in dative; first
- Frau
- Noun meaning woman or wife
- zwei
- Cardinal number meaning two
- zweiten
- Ordinal adjective in dative; second
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →