War and Peace — Page 2
He had just entered, wearing an embroidered court uniform, knee breeches, and shoes, and had stars on his breast and a serene expression on his flat face.
Er war soeben eingetreten, in einer gestickten Hofuniform, Kniehosen und Schuhen, mit Sternen auf der Brust und einem heiteren Ausdruck auf seinem flachen Gesicht.
He spoke in that refined French in which our grandfathers not only spoke but thought, and with the gentle, patronizing intonation natural to a man of importance who had grown old in society and at court.
Er sprach in jenem verfeinerten Französisch, in dem unsere Großväter nicht nur sprachen, sondern auch dachten, und mit der sanften, herablassenden Betonung, die einem bedeutenden Manne eigen ist, der in der Gesellschaft und am Hofe alt geworden war.
He went up to Anna Pávlovna, kissed her hand, presenting to her his bald, scented, and shining head, and complacently seated himself on the sofa.
Er trat zu Anna Pawlowna, küsste ihr die Hand, indem er ihr seinen kahlen, wohlriechenden und glänzenden Kopf entgegenhielt, und setzte sich behaglich auf das Sofa.
"Don't tease!
„Necken Sie mich nicht!
Vocabulary
- war
- Past tense of 'sein': was
- soeben
- Just now, at this very moment
- eingetreten
- Past participle of 'eintreten': entered, stepped in
- gestickten
- Embroidered, decorated with needlework
- Hofuniform
- Court uniform worn at royal or noble ceremonies
- Kniehosen
- Knee breeches, short trousers ending at the knee
- Schuhen
- Dative plural of 'Schuh': shoes
- Sternen
- Dative plural of 'Stern': stars, decorative star ornaments
- Brust
- Chest, breast of the human body
- heiteren
- Cheerful, bright, serene in expression or mood
- Ausdruck
- Expression, look on someone's face or in writing
- flachen
- Flat, level, lacking depth or contour
- Gesicht
- Face, the front of a person's head
- sprach
- Simple past of 'sprechen': spoke, talked
- jenem
- Demonstrative pronoun, dative: that, in that manner
- verfeinerten
- Refined, polished, cultivated in style or manner
- Französisch
- The French language or things relating to France
- Großväter
- Plural of 'Großvater': grandfathers, male ancestors
- sprachen
- Simple past plural of 'sprechen': they spoke
- sondern
- Coordinating conjunction meaning but rather, but instead
- dachten
- Simple past plural of 'denken': they thought
- sanften
- Gentle, soft, mild in tone or manner
- herablassenden
- Condescending, patronizing, looking down on others
- Betonung
- Emphasis, stress, intonation in speech or writing
- bedeutenden
- Significant, important, distinguished, notable
- Manne
- Dative singular of 'Mann': man, person
- eigen
- Own, characteristic, peculiar to someone or something
- Gesellschaft
- Society, company, social group or organization
- Hofe
- Dative of 'Hof': court, royal or noble household
- alt
- Old, aged, having existed for a long time
- geworden
- Past participle of 'werden': become, having become
- trat
- Simple past of 'treten': stepped, walked toward
- küsste
- Simple past of 'küssen': kissed someone's hand or cheek
- Hand
- Hand, the end part of a person's arm
- indem
- Subordinating conjunction: while, by doing, as
- kahlen
- Bald, bare, lacking hair or vegetation
- wohlriechenden
- Fragrant, sweet-smelling, having a pleasant scent
- glänzenden
- Shining, gleaming, glossy in appearance
- Kopf
- Head, the uppermost part of the human body
- entgegenhielt
- Simple past of 'entgegenhalten': held out toward someone
- setzte
- Simple past of 'setzen': placed, put, sat down
- behaglich
- Comfortably, cozily, in a relaxed and content manner
- Sofa
- Sofa, upholstered couch for sitting or reclining
- Necken
- To tease, to playfully mock or provoke someone
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