The Yellow Wallpaper — Page 4
" So we took the nursery, at the top of the house.
„Also nahmen wir das Kinderzimmer, ganz oben im Haus.
It is a big, airy room, the whole floor nearly, with windows that look all ways, and air and sunshine galore.
Es ist ein großes, luftiges Zimmer, das fast die ganze Etage einnimmt, mit Fenstern nach allen Seiten, und Luft und Sonnenschein in Hülle und Fülle.
It was nursery first and then playground and gymnasium, I should judge; for the windows are barred for little children, and there are rings and things in the walls.
Es war zuerst ein Kinderzimmer und dann ein Spiel- und Turnraum, so würde ich urteilen; denn die Fenster sind für kleine Kinder vergittert, und es gibt Ringe und dergleichen in den Wänden.
The paint and paper look as if a boys' school had used it.
Der Anstrich und die Tapete sehen aus, als hätte eine Knabenschule das Zimmer benutzt.
It is stripped off—the paper—in great patches all around the head of my bed, about as far as I can reach, and in a great place on the other side of the room low down.
Sie ist abgerissen – die Tapete – in großen Fetzen rund um das Kopfende meines Bettes, ungefähr so weit, wie ich reichen kann, und an einer großen Stelle auf der anderen Seite des Zimmers, weit unten.
I never saw a worse paper in my life.
Ich habe in meinem Leben noch nie eine schlimmere Tapete gesehen.
One of those sprawling flamboyant patterns committing every artistic sin.
Eines jener ausladenden, auffälligen Muster, das jeden künstlerischen Grundsatz verletzt.
It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate, and provoke study, and when you follow the lame, uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide—plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard-of contradictions.
Es ist trüb genug, um das Auge beim Verfolgen zu verwirren, ausgeprägt genug, um ständig zu reizen und zum Nachdenken anzuregen, und wenn man den lahmen, unsicheren Kurven ein Stück weit folgt, begehen sie plötzlich Selbstmord – stürzen in ungeheuerlichen Winkeln ab und vernichten sich in unerhörten Widersprüchen.
The color is repellant, almost revolting; a smouldering, unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight.
Die Farbe ist abstoßend, fast widerlich; ein schwelend schmutziges Gelb, seltsam verblichen durch das sich langsam drehende Sonnenlicht.
It is a dull yet lurid orange in some places, a sickly sulphur tint in others.
An manchen Stellen ist es ein stumpfes, dennoch grelles Orange, an anderen ein krankhafter Schwefelton.
No wonder the children hated it! I should hate it myself if I had to live in this room long.
Kein Wunder, dass die Kinder es hassten! Ich würde es selbst hassen, wenn ich lange in diesem Zimmer leben müsste.
There comes John, and I must put this away,—he hates to have me write a word.
Da kommt John, und ich muss das weglegen – er hasst es, wenn ich auch nur ein Wort schreibe.
Vocabulary
- Also
- So, well, thus; used as a discourse marker
- nahmen
- Past tense of nehmen; took, accepted
- wir
- First person plural pronoun; we
- das
- Definite article or pronoun; the, that
- Kinderzimmer
- A room designated for children; nursery
- ganz
- Entirely, completely, whole; very
- oben
- At the top, upstairs, above
- im
- Contraction of in dem; in the
- Haus
- A building used as a residence; house
- Es
- Third person neuter pronoun; it
- ist
- Third person singular of sein; is
- ein
- Indefinite article or numeral; a, one
- großes
- Adjective form of groß; large, big
- luftiges
- Adjective form of luftig; airy, breezy
- Zimmer
- An enclosed space within a building; room
- fast
- Almost, nearly, close to entirely
- die
- Definite article feminine/plural; the
- ganze
- Inflected form of ganz; entire, whole
- Etage
- A level or floor within a building; floor
- einnimmt
- Third person singular of einnehmen; occupies, takes up
- mit
- Preposition indicating accompaniment or inclusion; with
- Fenstern
- Dative plural of Fenster; with windows
- nach
- Preposition indicating direction or time; toward, after
- allen
- Dative form of alle; all, every
- Seiten
- Plural of Seite; sides, pages
- und
- Coordinating conjunction connecting words; and
- Luft
- The mixture of gases we breathe; air
- Sonnenschein
- Light and warmth from the sun; sunshine
- in
- Preposition indicating location or inclusion; in
- Hülle
- Cover, abundance; in Hülle und Fülle means in abundance
- Fülle
- Abundance, plenty, fullness of something
- war
- Simple past of sein; was
- zuerst
- At the beginning, first of all
- dann
- Adverb indicating sequence; then, afterward
- Spiel-
- Prefix element meaning play; play- (as in playroom)
- Turnraum
- A room equipped for gymnastics; gymnasium room
- so
- Adverb meaning thus, so, in this way
- würde
- Conditional form of werden; would
- ich
- First person singular pronoun; I
- urteilen
- To form an opinion or assessment; to judge
- denn
- Conjunction meaning for, because, or then
- Fenster
- An opening in a wall admitting light; window
- sind
- Third person plural of sein; are
- für
- Preposition indicating purpose or recipient; for
- kleine
- Inflected form of klein; small, little
- Kinder
- Plural of Kind; children
- vergittert
- Past participle of vergittern; barred, fitted with bars
- es
- Neuter pronoun; it
- gibt
- Third person singular of geben; there is/are
- Ringe
- Plural of Ring; rings, circular loops
- dergleichen
- Such things, the like, similar items
- den
- Definite article accusative/dative plural; the
- Wänden
- Dative plural of Wand; on the walls
- Der
- Definite article masculine nominative; the
- Anstrich
- A coat of paint applied to a surface; paint coat
- Tapete
- Decorative paper or material covering walls; wallpaper
- sehen
- To perceive with the eyes; to look, see
- aus
- Preposition meaning out of, from, or finished
- als
- Conjunction meaning as, than, or when
- hätte
- Subjunctive II of haben; would have
- eine
- Feminine indefinite article; a, one
- Knabenschule
- A school formerly attended only by boys; boys' school
- benutzt
- Past participle/third person of benutzen; used
- Sie
- Third person plural or formal you; they/you
- abgerissen
- Past participle of abreißen; torn off, stripped away
- großen
- Inflected form of groß; large, big
- Fetzen
- Torn pieces or shreds of material; scraps, tatters
- rund
- Around, approximately, circular in shape
- um
- Preposition meaning around, at, for
- Kopfende
- The head end of a bed; headboard end
- meines
- Genitive form of mein; of my
- Bettes
- Genitive of Bett; of the bed
- ungefähr
- Approximately, roughly, about a given amount
- weit
- Far, wide, extensive in distance or space
- wie
- How, as, like; used in comparisons
- reichen
- To reach, extend, or be sufficient
- kann
- First/third person singular of können; can, is able
- an
- Preposition meaning at, on, or to
- einer
- Dative/genitive feminine of ein; one, a
- Stelle
- A specific point or spot in space; place, spot
- auf
- Preposition meaning on, onto, upon
- der
- Definite article genitive/dative feminine; the
- anderen
- Inflected form of ander; other, another
- Seite
- A surface, side, or page of something
- des
- Genitive masculine/neuter definite article; of the
- Zimmers
- Genitive of Zimmer; of the room
- unten
- Below, downstairs, at the bottom
- Ich
- First person singular subject pronoun; I
- habe
- First person singular of haben; have
- meinem
- Dative form of mein; in my (life)
- Leben
- The period of existence of a person; life
- noch
- Still, yet, even, additionally
- nie
- At no time, not ever; never
- schlimmere
- Comparative inflected form of schlimm; worse
- gesehen
- Past participle of sehen; seen
- Eines
- Genitive/neuter form of ein; one of
- jener
- Demonstrative pronoun; that, those (over there)
- ausladenden
- Inflected form of ausladend; sprawling, projecting widely
- auffälligen
- Inflected form of auffällig; conspicuous, striking, garish
- Muster
- A repeated decorative design or template; pattern
- jeden
- Accusative of jeder; every, each
- künstlerischen
- Inflected form of künstlerisch; artistic, related to art
- Grundsatz
- A fundamental rule or principle; principle
- verletzt
- Third person singular of verletzen; violates, injures
- trüb
- Dull, gloomy, murky, lacking brightness
- genug
- Sufficient, enough of something
- Auge
- The organ of sight in living beings; eye
- beim
- Contraction of bei dem; at the, while
- Verfolgen
- Nominalized infinitive of verfolgen; following, tracing, pursuing
- zu
- Preposition or infinitive marker; to, too, closed
- verwirren
- To cause confusion or disorientation; to confuse
- ausgeprägt
- Past participle of ausprägen; pronounced, distinct, marked
- ständig
- Continuously, constantly, on a permanent basis
- reizen
- To irritate, provoke, or stimulate someone
- zum
- Contraction of zu dem; to the, for the
- Nachdenken
- The act of thinking deeply about something; reflection
- anzuregen
- Infinitive of anregen with zu; to stimulate, inspire
- wenn
- Subordinating conjunction; if, when, whenever
- man
- Indefinite pronoun meaning one, you, people
- lahmen
- Inflected form of lahm; lame, limping, halting
- unsicheren
- Inflected form of unsicher; uncertain, unsteady, insecure
- Kurven
- Plural of Kurve; curves, bends, turns
- Stück
- A portion or piece of something; piece, part
- folgt
- Third person singular of folgen; follows
- begehen
- To commit an act or traverse a path; to commit
- sie
- Third person feminine/plural pronoun; she, they
- plötzlich
- Happening without warning; suddenly, abruptly
- Selbstmord
- The act of taking one's own life; suicide
- stürzen
- To fall, plunge, or rush headlong; to topple
- ungeheuerlichen
- Inflected form of ungeheuerlich; monstrous, outrageous, appalling
- Winkeln
- Dative plural of Winkel; at angles, corners
- ab
- Separable prefix or preposition meaning off, away, down
- vernichten
- To destroy or annihilate completely; to obliterate
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun third person; himself, herself, itself
- unerhörten
- Inflected form of unerhört; outrageous, unheard-of, shocking
- Widersprüchen
- Dative plural of Widerspruch; contradictions, conflicts
- Die
- Feminine/plural definite article; the
- Farbe
- A visual property produced by light wavelengths; color
- abstoßend
- Present participle of abstoßen; repulsive, repellent, disgusting
- widerlich
- Causing strong disgust or revulsion; revolting
- schwelend
- Present participle of schwelen; smoldering, festering, lurking
- schmutziges
- Inflected form of schmutzig; dirty, filthy, grimy
- Gelb
- The color of ripe lemons or sunflowers; yellow
- seltsam
- Strange, peculiar, odd in an unusual way
- verblichen
- Past participle of verbleichen; faded, bleached, discolored
- durch
- Preposition meaning through, by means of
- langsam
- At a slow pace or rate; slowly
- drehende
- Inflected form of drehend; rotating, turning, spinning
- Sonnenlicht
- Natural light emitted by the sun; sunlight
- An
- Preposition meaning at, on, to (place/time)
- manchen
- Dative form of manch; at some, certain places
- Stellen
- Plural of Stelle; places, spots, passages
- stumpfes
- Inflected form of stumpf; dull, muted, blunt
- dennoch
- Despite that, yet, nonetheless, nevertheless
- grelles
- Inflected form of grell; glaring, garish, harsh bright
- Orange
- The color between red and yellow; orange
- krankhafter
- Comparative inflected form of krankhaft; morbid, sickly
- Schwefelton
- A sulfurous yellow-green hue or tone; sulfur tone
- Kein
- Negative article meaning no, not a, none
- Wunder
- A surprising or remarkable occurrence; wonder, miracle
- dass
- Subordinating conjunction introducing a clause; that
- hassten
- Simple past plural of hassen; hated
- selbst
- Emphatic particle meaning even, oneself, itself
- hassen
- To feel intense dislike toward something; to hate
- lange
- For a long duration of time; long, for long
- diesem
- Dative form of dieser; in/with this
- leben
- To exist and experience the world; to live
- müsste
- Subjunctive II of müssen; would have to
- Da
- There, here, then; marks a situation or cause
- kommt
- Third person singular of kommen; comes, is coming
- muss
- First/third person singular of müssen; must, have to
- weglegen
- To put something aside or away; to lay down
- er
- Third person masculine singular pronoun; he
- hasst
- Third person singular of hassen; hates
- auch
- Also, too, even, as well
- nur
- Only, merely, just, no more than
- Wort
- A unit of language with meaning; word
- schreibe
- First person singular of schreiben; I write
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