White nights, and other stories — Page 6
If a window opened after delicate fingers, white as snow, had tapped upon the pane, and the head of a pretty girl was thrust out, calling to a street-seller with pots of flowers--at once on the spot I fancied that those flowers were being bought not simply in order to enjoy the flowers and the spring in stuffy town lodgings, but because they would all be very soon moving into the country and could take the flowers with them.
Wenn sich ein Fenster öffnete, nachdem zarte Finger, weiß wie Schnee, an die Scheibe geklopft hatten, und der Kopf eines hübschen Mädchens herausgestreckt wurde, das einen Straßenhändler mit Blumentöpfen herbeirief – so bildete ich mir auf der Stelle ein, dass diese Blumen nicht einfach gekauft wurden, um die Blumen und den Frühling in dumpfen Stadtwohnungen zu genießen, sondern weil sie alle sehr bald aufs Land ziehen und die Blumen mitnehmen könnten.
What is more, I made such progress in my new peculiar sort of investigation that I could distinguish correctly from the mere air of each in what summer villa he was living.
Darüber hinaus machte ich in meiner neuen, eigentümlichen Art von Untersuchung solche Fortschritte, dass ich allein an der Haltung eines jeden Menschen richtig erkennen konnte, in welcher Sommervilla er wohnte.
The inhabitants of Kamenny and Aptekarsky Islands or of the Peterhof Road were marked by the studied elegance of their manner, their fashionable summer suits, and the fine carriages in which they drove to town.
Die Bewohner der Inseln Kamenny und Aptekarsky oder der Peterhofskaja Straße zeichneten sich durch die gesuchte Eleganz ihres Auftretens, ihre modischen Sommeranzüge und die vornehmen Kutschen aus, mit denen sie in die Stadt fuhren.
Visitors to Pargolovo and places further away impressed one at first sight by their reasonable and dignified air; the tripper to Krestovsky Island could be recognized by his look of irrepressible gaiety.
Besucher aus Pargolowo und weiter entfernten Orten beeindruckten auf den ersten Blick durch ihre besonnene und würdevolle Haltung; der Ausflügler nach Krestowski Island war an seinem Blick unwiderstehlicher Fröhlichkeit zu erkennen.
Vocabulary
- Wenn
- Conditional conjunction; introduces conditional clauses.
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun; oneself, himself, herself, itself.
- ein
- Indefinite article; a, an in English.
- Fenster
- Window; opening in wall for light and air.
- öffnete
- Opened; past tense of öffnen.
- nachdem
- After; introduces temporal or causal clauses.
- zarte
- Tender, delicate; gentle in quality or touch.
- Finger
- Finger; digit of hand used for grasping.
- weiß
- White; color of snow or milk.
- wie
- Like, as; introduces comparison or manner.
- Schnee
- Snow; frozen precipitation from clouds.
- an
- On, at; preposition indicating position or location.
- die
- The; definite article for feminine nouns.
- Scheibe
- Pane, disc; sheet of glass or material.
- geklopft
- Knocked; past participle of klopfen.
- hatten
- Had; past tense of haben.
- und
- And; conjunction joining words or clauses.
- der
- The; definite article for masculine nouns.
- Kopf
- Head; upper part of human body.
- eines
- Of a, of one; genitive form of ein.
- hübschen
- Pretty, handsome; pleasing in appearance.
- Mädchens
- Girl's; genitive form of Mädchen.
- wurde
- Was; past tense of werden.
- das
- That, which; relative pronoun.
- einen
- A, one; accusative form of ein.
- Straßenhändler
- Street vendor; person selling goods on street.
- mit
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment.
- Blumentöpfen
- Flower pots; containers for growing plants.
- so
- So, thus; indicates consequence or manner.
- bildete
- Formed; past tense of bilden.
- ich
- I; first person singular pronoun.
- mir
- Me; dative form of ich.
- auf
- On, up; preposition indicating position.
- Stelle
- Spot, place; location or position.
- dass
- That; conjunction introducing subordinate clause.
- diese
- These; demonstrative pronoun plural.
- Blumen
- Flowers; flowering plants for decoration.
- nicht
- Not; negation of statement or action.
- einfach
- Simply, easily; without complication.
- gekauft
- Bought; past participle of kaufen.
- wurden
- Were; past tense plural of werden.
- um
- In order to; preposition indicating purpose.
- den
- The; accusative form of definite article.
- Frühling
- Spring; season after winter.
- in
- In; preposition indicating location.
- dumpfen
- Stuffy, musty; lacking fresh air.
- Stadtwohnungen
- City apartments; urban living spaces.
- zu
- To; preposition or infinitive marker.
- genießen
- Enjoy; take pleasure in something.
- sondern
- But; conjunction contrasting alternatives.
- weil
- Because; introduces causal clause.
- sie
- They, she; third person pronoun.
- alle
- All; every one of a group.
- sehr
- Very; intensifies adjectives or adverbs.
- bald
- Soon; in near future.
- aufs
- To the; contraction of auf das.
- Land
- Country, countryside; rural area.
- ziehen
- Move, pull; change location.
- mitnehmen
- Take along; bring with oneself.
- könnten
- Could; conditional form of können.
- Darüber
- Moreover, beyond that; furthermore.
- hinaus
- Out, beyond; indicates going further.
- machte
- Made; past tense of machen.
- meiner
- My; possessive pronoun dative form.
- neuen
- New; recent or not seen before.
- eigentümlichen
- Peculiar, distinctive; unusual characteristic.
- Art
- Kind, manner; type or way.
- von
- Of, from; preposition indicating origin.
- Untersuchung
- Investigation, examination; careful study.
- solche
- Such; indicates this or that kind.
- Fortschritte
- Progress; advancement forward.
- allein
- Alone, only; sole or unique.
- Haltung
- Posture, bearing; way of standing.
- jeden
- Every, each; all individual ones.
- Menschen
- Human, person; individual human being.
- richtig
- Right, correct; proper or accurate.
- erkennen
- Recognize, know; identify or understand.
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