War and Peace — Page 1

English → De CHAPTER II Level 8/10

Anna Pávlovna's drawing room was gradually filling.

Anna Pawlownas Salon füllte sich allmählich.

The highest Petersburg society was assembled there: people differing widely in age and character but alike in the social circle to which they belonged.

Die höchste Petersburger Gesellschaft hatte sich dort versammelt: Menschen, die sich in Alter und Charakter sehr unterschieden, aber demselben gesellschaftlichen Kreis angehörten.

Prince Vasíli's daughter, the beautiful Hélène, came to take her father to the ambassador's entertainment; she wore a ball dress and her badge as maid of honor.

Fürst Wasilis Tochter, die schöne Hélène, kam, um ihren Vater zum Empfang beim Botschafter abzuholen; sie trug ein Ballkleid und ihr Abzeichen als Hofdame.

The youthful little Princess Bolkónskaya, known as la femme la plus séduisante de Pétersbourg, * was also there.

Die jugendliche kleine Fürstin Bolkonskaja, bekannt als la femme la plus séduisante de Pétersbourg, * war ebenfalls anwesend.

She had been married during the previous winter, and being pregnant did not go to any large gatherings, but only to small receptions.

Sie hatte im vergangenen Winter geheiratet und besuchte in ihrer Schwangerschaft keine großen Gesellschaften, sondern nur kleine Empfänge.

Prince Vasíli's son, Hippolyte, had come with Mortemart, whom he introduced.

Fürst Wasilis Sohn Hippolyte war mit Mortemart gekommen, den er vorstellte.

The Abbé Morio and many others had also come.

Der Abbé Morio und viele andere waren ebenfalls gekommen.

* The most fascinating woman in Petersburg.

* Die faszinierendste Frau in Petersburg.

To each new arrival Anna Pávlovna said, "You have not yet seen my aunt," or "You do not know my aunt?" and very gravely conducted him or her to a little old lady, wearing large bows of ribbon in her cap, who had come sailing in from another room as soon as the guests began to arrive; and slowly turning her eyes from the visitor to her aunt, Anna Pávlovna mentioned each one's name and then left them.

Zu jedem neu Ankommenden sagte Anna Pawlowna: „Sie haben meine Tante noch nicht gesehen" oder „Sie kennen meine Tante nicht?" und geleitete ihn oder sie sehr feierlich zu einer kleinen alten Dame mit großen Schleifenbändern auf der Haube, die aus einem anderen Zimmer hereingeschwebt war, sobald die Gäste einzutreffen begannen; und indem sie langsam den Blick vom Besucher zu ihrer Tante wandte, nannte Anna Pawlowna den Namen jedes Einzelnen und ließ sie dann miteinander.

Each visitor performed the ceremony of greeting this old aunt whom not one of them knew, not one of them wanted to know, and not one of them cared about; Anna Pávlovna observed these greetings with mournful and solemn interest and silent approval.

Jeder Besucher vollzog die Zeremonie der Begrüßung dieser alten Tante, die keiner von ihnen kannte, keiner von ihnen kennenlernen wollte und um die sich keiner von ihnen scherte; Anna Pawlowna beobachtete diese Begrüßungen mit wehmütigem und feierlichem Interesse und stiller Zustimmung.

Vocabulary

Salon: A formal reception room for guests and gatherings.
füllte: Past tense of füllen; filled or occupied a space.
sich: Reflexive pronoun meaning oneself, himself, herself, itself.
allmählich: Gradually, slowly, or by degrees over time.
Die: Definite article the, feminine or plural form.
höchste: Superlative of hoch; highest or most elevated in rank.
Gesellschaft: Society, company, or a social group of people.
hatte: Past tense of haben; had, possessed something.
dort: Adverb meaning there, in or at that place.
versammelt: Gathered or assembled together in one place.
Menschen: People or human beings in general.
die: Definite article the, or relative pronoun who/that.
in: Preposition meaning in, inside, or within something.
Alter: Age; the number of years a person has lived.
und: Conjunction meaning and, connecting words or clauses.
Charakter: Character; a person's moral and personality traits.
sehr: Adverb meaning very or greatly, intensifying adjectives.
unterschieden: Past participle of unterscheiden; differed or were distinguished.
aber: Conjunction meaning but, however, introducing a contrast.
demselben: Dative form of derselbe; the same one mentioned before.
gesellschaftlichen: Adjective meaning social, relating to society or class.
Kreis: Circle or group; a social circle or community.
angehörten: Past tense of angehören; belonged to a group or circle.
Fürst: Prince or nobleman of high aristocratic rank.
Tochter: Daughter; a female child in relation to her parents.
schöne: Adjective meaning beautiful or lovely, describing appearance.
kam: Past tense of kommen; came, arrived at a place.
um: Preposition or conjunction meaning in order to, around.
ihren: Accusative possessive pronoun meaning her, their.
Vater: Father; a male parent of a child.
zum: Contraction of zu dem; to the, toward the.
Empfang: Reception; a formal social gathering or welcoming event.
beim: Contraction of bei dem; at the, with the.
Botschafter: Ambassador; a high-ranking diplomatic representative abroad.
abzuholen: To pick up or collect someone from a place.
sie: Personal pronoun meaning she, her, or they.
trug: Past tense of tragen; wore or carried something.
ein: Indefinite article meaning a or an.
Ballkleid: Ball gown; a formal dress worn to dances.
ihr: Possessive pronoun meaning her or their.
Abzeichen: Badge or insignia worn to indicate rank or membership.
als: Conjunction or preposition meaning as, than, or when.
Hofdame: Lady-in-waiting; a noblewoman attending a royal court.
jugendliche: Adjective meaning youthful or juvenile, relating to youth.
kleine: Adjective meaning small or little in size.
Fürstin: Princess or female ruler of a principality.
bekannt: Known or famous; well acquainted with something or someone.
war: Past tense of sein; was, existed at a time.
ebenfalls: Adverb meaning likewise, also, or equally present.
anwesend: Present or in attendance at a place or event.
Sie: Personal pronoun meaning she, they, or formal you.
im: Contraction of in dem; in the.
vergangenen: Adjective meaning past or previous, referring to earlier time.
Winter: Winter; the coldest season of the year.
geheiratet: Past participle of heiraten; married, entered into marriage.
besuchte: Past tense of besuchen; visited or attended a place.
ihrer: Genitive possessive pronoun meaning her or their.
Schwangerschaft: Pregnancy; the condition of carrying a developing child.
keine: No, not any; negative indefinite pronoun or article.
großen: Adjective meaning large, big, or grand in scale.
Gesellschaften: Plural of Gesellschaft; societies or social gatherings.
sondern: Conjunction meaning but rather, correcting a previous negation.
nur: Adverb meaning only, merely, or just, limiting quantity.
Empfänge: Plural of Empfang; receptions or formal welcoming events.
Sohn: Son; a male child in relation to his parents.
mit: Preposition meaning with, along with, or together.
gekommen: Past participle of kommen; come or arrived at a place.
den: Accusative definite article the, masculine singular form.
er: Personal pronoun meaning he, referring to a male subject.
vorstellte: Past tense of vorstellen; introduced someone to another person.
Der: Definite article the, masculine singular nominative form.
viele: Many or numerous; referring to a large number of things.
andere: Other or others; different people or things.
waren: Past tense plural of sein; were, existed in the past.
faszinierendste: Superlative of faszinierend; the most fascinating or captivating.
Frau: Woman or wife; also a formal title for adult women.
Zu: Preposition meaning to, toward, or at a place.
jedem: Dative of jeder; to each or every person or thing.
neu: Adjective meaning new, fresh, or recently arrived.
Ankommenden: Present participle noun meaning one who is arriving.
sagte: Past tense of sagen; said, spoke, or uttered words.
haben: To have; an auxiliary and main verb in German.
meine: Possessive pronoun meaning my, belonging to the speaker.
Tante: Aunt; a parent's sister or uncle's wife.
noch: Still, yet, or not yet; adverb of continuation.
nicht: Adverb of negation meaning not, negating a statement.
gesehen: Past participle of sehen; seen, perceived with the eyes.
oder: Conjunction meaning or, presenting an alternative option.
kennen: To know a person or thing through familiarity.
geleitete: Past tense of geleiten; escorted or led someone ceremonially.
ihn: Accusative personal pronoun meaning him, direct object.
feierlich: Solemn, ceremonial, or festive in manner or atmosphere.
zu: Preposition meaning to, too, or at a location.
einer: Dative indefinite article meaning to a, feminine form.
kleinen: Adjective meaning small, little, used in declined form.
alten: Adjective meaning old or elderly, in declined form.
Dame: Lady; a polite term for a refined or noble woman.
Schleifenbändern: Ribbon bows; decorative ribbon ties used on clothing or hats.
auf: Preposition meaning on, upon, or on top of something.
der: Definite article the; genitive or dative feminine form.
Haube: Cap or bonnet; a covering worn on the head.
aus: Preposition meaning out of, from, or made of.
einem: Dative indefinite article meaning from a, masculine or neuter.
anderen: Adjective meaning another or other, declined form.
Zimmer: Room; an enclosed space within a building or house.
hereingeschwebt: Past participle of hereinschweben; floated or glided gracefully inside.
sobald: Conjunction meaning as soon as, immediately when something happens.
Gäste: Guests; people invited to attend a gathering or event.
einzutreffen: Infinitive meaning to arrive or show up at a place.
begannen: Past tense of beginnen; began or started an action.
indem: Conjunction meaning by, while, or by doing something.
langsam: Slowly; at a low or reduced speed or pace.
Blick: Gaze or glance; a look directed at someone or something.
vom: Contraction of von dem; from the or away from.
Besucher: Visitor; a person who comes to see someone or something.
wandte: Past tense of wenden; turned or directed toward something.
nannte: Past tense of nennen; named or called someone something.
Namen: Name or names; words by which a person is known.
jedes: Genitive of jeder; each or every single one.
Einzelnen: Noun meaning individual person, each single one present.
ließ: Past tense of lassen; let, allowed, or had something done.
dann: Adverb meaning then, afterward, or at that time.
miteinander: With each other or with one another, mutually.
Jeder: Each one or everyone; referring to every individual person.
vollzog: Past tense of vollziehen; carried out or performed an act.
Zeremonie: Ceremony; a formal ritual or prescribed set of actions.
Begrüßung: Greeting; the act of welcoming or acknowledging someone's arrival.
dieser: Demonstrative pronoun meaning this or this one, genitive.
keiner: Nobody or none; referring to not a single person.
von: Preposition meaning of, from, or by someone or something.
ihnen: Dative pronoun meaning them or formal you (Sie).
kannte: Past tense of kennen; knew or was familiar with someone.
kennenlernen: To get to know or meet someone for the first time.
wollte: Past tense of wollen; wanted or intended to do something.
scherte: Past tense of scheren; cared about or bothered with something.
beobachtete: Past tense of beobachten; observed or watched carefully something.
diese: Demonstrative pronoun meaning these or this, feminine or plural.
Begrüßungen: Plural of Begrüßung; greetings or welcoming gestures exchanged socially.
wehmütigem: Adjective meaning melancholic or wistful, in dative declined form.
feierlichem: Adjective meaning solemn or ceremonial, in dative declined form.
Interesse: Interest; attention or concern directed toward something or someone.
stiller: Adjective meaning quiet or silent, comparative or declined form.
Zustimmung: Approval or agreement; consent or assent given to something.

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