War and Peace — Page 2
The aunt spoke to each of them in the same words, about their health and her own, and the health of Her Majesty, "who, thank God, was better today."
Die Tante sprach mit jedem von ihnen in denselben Worten über ihre Gesundheit und ihre eigene sowie über die Gesundheit Ihrer Majestät, „die, Gott sei Dank, heute besser sei."
And each visitor, though politeness prevented his showing impatience, left the old woman with a sense of relief at having performed a vexatious duty and did not return to her the whole evening.
Und jeder Besucher, obwohl ihm die Höflichkeit verwehrte, seine Ungeduld zu zeigen, verließ die alte Dame mit einem Gefühl der Erleichterung darüber, eine lästige Pflicht erfüllt zu haben, und kehrte den ganzen Abend nicht mehr zu ihr zurück.
The young Princess Bolkónskaya had brought some work in a gold-embroidered velvet bag.
Die junge Fürstin Bolkonskaja hatte eine Handarbeit in einem goldbestickten Samtbeutel mitgebracht.
Her pretty little upper lip, on which a delicate dark down was just perceptible, was too short for her teeth, but it lifted all the more sweetly, and was especially charming when she occasionally drew it down to meet the lower lip.
Ihre hübsche kleine Oberlippe, auf der ein zarter dunkler Flaum kaum wahrnehmbar war, war für ihre Zähne zu kurz, hob sich aber umso lieblicher und war besonders reizend, wenn sie sie gelegentlich senkte, um sie der Unterlippe entgegenzuführen.
As is always the case with a thoroughly attractive woman, her defect—the shortness of her upper lip and her half-open mouth—seemed to be her own special and peculiar form of beauty.
Wie es bei einer durch und durch anziehenden Frau stets der Fall ist, schien ihr Makel – die Kürze ihrer Oberlippe und ihr halb geöffneter Mund – ihre ganz eigene und unverwechselbare Form von Schönheit zu sein.
Everyone brightened at the sight of this pretty young woman, so soon to become a mother, so full of life and health, and carrying her burden so lightly.
Alle wurden heiterer beim Anblick dieser hübschen jungen Frau, die so bald Mutter werden sollte, so voller Leben und Gesundheit war und ihre Last so leicht trug.
Old men and dull dispirited young ones who looked at her, after being in her company and talking to her a little while, felt as if they too were becoming, like her, full of life and health.
Alte Männer und trübsinnige junge, die sie ansahen, fühlten sich nach einiger Zeit in ihrer Gesellschaft und nach einem Gespräch mit ihr, als würden auch sie wie sie von Leben und Gesundheit erfüllt.
All who talked to her, and at each word saw her bright smile and the constant gleam of her white teeth, thought that they were in a specially amiable mood that day.
Alle, die mit ihr sprachen und bei jedem Wort ihr strahlendes Lächeln und den beständigen Glanz ihrer weißen Zähne sahen, glaubten, an diesem Tag in einer besonders liebenswürdigen Stimmung zu sein.
Vocabulary
- Tante
- Female relative, sister of one's parent
- sprach
- Past tense of sprechen; spoke
- mit
- Preposition meaning with or along with
- jedem
- Dative form of jeder; with every person
- von
- Preposition meaning of, from, or about
- ihnen
- Dative plural pronoun; to them
- denselben
- Dative form of derselbe; the very same
- Worten
- Plural dative of Wort; in words
- über
- Preposition meaning over, about, or concerning
- ihre
- Possessive pronoun; her or their
- Gesundheit
- State of being well; one's health
- eigene
- Adjective meaning own or personal
- sowie
- Conjunction meaning as well as or and also
- Ihrer
- Genitive/dative of Sie; Your (formal possessive)
- Majestät
- Title of honor for a monarch; majesty
- Gott
- The supreme divine being; God
- sei
- Subjunctive of sein; may be or let be
- Dank
- Expression of gratitude; thanks
- heute
- Adverb referring to the current day; today
- besser
- Comparative of gut; of higher quality or health
- jeder
- Indefinite pronoun meaning every or each one
- Besucher
- Person who comes to see someone; visitor
- obwohl
- Subordinating conjunction meaning although or even though
- ihm
- Dative singular masculine pronoun; to him
- Höflichkeit
- Polite and respectful behavior; courtesy
- verwehrte
- Past tense of verwehren; denied or prevented something
- seine
- Possessive pronoun meaning his or its
- Ungeduld
- Inability to wait calmly; impatience
- zeigen
- To display or make something visible; show
- verließ
- Past tense of verlassen; departed or left a place
- alte
- Adjective meaning old or aged
- Dame
- A woman of refinement or social standing; lady
- Gefühl
- Internal emotional or physical sensation; feeling
- Erleichterung
- Feeling of burden lifted; relief
- darüber
- Adverb meaning about it or over it
- lästige
- Adjective meaning annoying, tedious, or burdensome
- Pflicht
- Moral or social obligation one must fulfill; duty
- erfüllt
- Past participle of erfüllen; completed or fulfilled
- haben
- Auxiliary verb meaning to have
- kehrte
- Past tense of kehren; turned or returned
- ganzen
- Adjective meaning whole or entire
- Abend
- Time of day after afternoon; evening
- mehr
- Adverb meaning more or any longer
- ihr
- Possessive or pronoun; her, their, or to her
- zurück
- Directional adverb meaning back or behind
- junge
- Adjective meaning young or youthful
- Fürstin
- Female member of high nobility; princess
- hatte
- Past tense of haben; had
- Handarbeit
- Craft made by hand, such as knitting or embroidery
- mitgebracht
- Past participle of mitbringen; brought along with oneself
- Ihre
- Formal possessive pronoun meaning Your (polite form)
- hübsche
- Adjective meaning pretty or attractive
- kleine
- Adjective meaning small or little
- Oberlippe
- The upper of the two lips on the mouth
- auf
- Preposition meaning on, upon, or onto
- zarter
- Comparative adjective meaning delicate or tender
- dunkler
- Comparative adjective meaning darker
- Flaum
- Soft fine hair or down on skin or feathers
- kaum
- Adverb meaning hardly or scarcely
- wahrnehmbar
- Able to be perceived by the senses; perceptible
- war
- Past tense of sein; was
- für
- Preposition meaning for or in favor of
- Zähne
- Plural of Zahn; hard structures used for chewing
- kurz
- Adjective or adverb meaning short or brief
- hob
- Past tense of heben; lifted or raised
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun meaning oneself or itself
- aber
- Conjunction or adverb meaning but or however
- umso
- Adverb intensifier meaning all the more so
- lieblicher
- Comparative of lieblich; more charming or lovely
- besonders
- Adverb meaning especially or particularly
- reizend
- Adjective meaning charming, delightful, or enchanting
- wenn
- Conjunction meaning when or if
- gelegentlich
- Adverb meaning occasionally or from time to time
- senkte
- Past tense of senken; lowered or moved downward
- um
- Preposition meaning around, at, or in order to
- Unterlippe
- The lower of the two lips on the mouth
- Wie
- Interrogative or conjunction meaning how or as
- bei
- Preposition meaning at, near, or in the case of
- durch
- Preposition meaning through or by means of
- anziehenden
- Adjective meaning attractive or appealing
- Frau
- Adult female person; woman or wife
- stets
- Adverb meaning always or at all times
- Fall
- Instance or situation; case
- schien
- Past tense of scheinen; seemed or appeared
- Makel
- A small imperfection or blemish; flaw
- Kürze
- The quality of being short in length or time; brevity
- ihrer
- Genitive possessive pronoun meaning her or their
- halb
- Adjective or adverb meaning half or halfway
- geöffneter
- Adjective meaning opened or partially open
- Mund
- Facial opening used for eating and speaking; mouth
- ganz
- Adjective or adverb meaning whole, entire, or quite
- unverwechselbare
- Adjective meaning unmistakable or uniquely distinctive
- Form
- The shape or outward appearance of something
- Schönheit
- Quality of being visually pleasing; beauty
- sein
- Infinitive of to be; also possessive meaning his
- Alle
- Indefinite pronoun meaning all or everyone
- wurden
- Past tense of werden; became or were made
- heiterer
- Comparative of heiter; more cheerful or serene
- beim
- Contraction of bei dem; at the or upon the
- Anblick
- The act of seeing or viewing something; sight
- dieser
- Demonstrative pronoun or article meaning this
- hübschen
- Inflected form of hübsch; pretty or attractive
- jungen
- Inflected adjective meaning young
- bald
- Adverb meaning soon or before long
- Mutter
- Female parent of a child; mother
- werden
- Verb meaning to become or future auxiliary will
- sollte
- Past subjunctive of sollen; should or was supposed to
- voller
- Adjective meaning full of or filled with
- Leben
- The state of being alive; life
- Last
- A heavy burden or load one must carry
- leicht
- Adjective or adverb meaning light, easy, or slight
- trug
- Past tense of tragen; carried or bore
- Alte
- Noun form of alt; old people or old man/woman
- Männer
- Plural of Mann; adult male persons; men
- trübsinnige
- Adjective meaning melancholy or gloomy-minded
- ansahen
- Past tense of ansehen; looked at or regarded
- fühlten
- Past tense of fühlen; felt or sensed
- nach
- Preposition meaning after, to, or according to
- einiger
- Genitive of einige; after some or a certain amount of
- Zeit
- The measurable duration of events; time
- Gesellschaft
- A group of people in company together; society
- Gespräch
- A spoken exchange between people; conversation
- als
- Conjunction meaning as, than, or when
- würden
- Conditional form of werden; would become or would
- auch
- Adverb meaning also, too, or as well
- wie
- Conjunction or adverb meaning how or like
- sprachen
- Past plural of sprechen; they spoke
- Wort
- A single unit of language; word
- strahlendes
- Adjective meaning radiant, beaming, or shining
- Lächeln
- A facial expression of happiness; smile
- beständigen
- Adjective meaning constant, steady, or persistent
- Glanz
- A bright shining or lustrous quality; gleam
- weißen
- Inflected adjective meaning white
- sahen
- Past plural of sehen; they saw
- glaubten
- Past plural of glauben; they believed or thought
- an
- Preposition meaning at, on, or by
- diesem
- Dative demonstrative article meaning this
- Tag
- A 24-hour period; day
- liebenswürdigen
- Adjective meaning amiable, kind, or lovable
- Stimmung
- The general emotional atmosphere or mood
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →