English-German Wordlist: File 1 Useful Words and Phrases

Vocabulary practice cards featuring key words and phrases from File 1 with their German translations and contextual example sentences.

context (n)

German: Kontext. Example: 'Can you work out the meaning of this word from the context of the sentence?'

star (v)

German: die Hauptrolle spielen. Example: 'He has starred in many successful films.'

wasp (n)

German: Wespe. Example: 'I was stung by a wasp in a market when I was six.'

rub (v)

German: (ein-)reiben. Example: 'You should rub some cream into your wasp sting.'

despise (v)

German: geringschätzen. Example: 'Which living person do you most despise, and why?'

I wonder

German: ich frage mich. Example: 'I wonder why he didn't come to the party.'

intonation (n)

German: Intonation. Example: 'Use friendly intonation when you speak to new people.'

react (v)

German: reagieren. Example: 'React to your partner's answers.'

vegan (n)

German: Veganer(in). Example: 'A vegan doesn't eat meat, fish, or any animal products.'

extreme (adj)

German: extrem. Example: 'Bungee jumping is an extreme sport - not everyone would enjoy it.'

bizarre (adj)

German: seltsam. Example: 'They asked some bizarre questions in the job interview.'

deadly (adj)

German: todernst. Example: 'This problem is deadly serious.'

candidate (n)

German: Bewerber(in). Example: 'He wasn't impressed with the first candidate he interviewed.'

approach (n)

German: Ansatz. Example: 'The new approach to selecting candidates comes from Silicon Valley.'

demanding (adj)

German: anspruchsvoll. Example: 'It was a very demanding job interview process.'

cruel (adj)

German: schrecklich, grausam. Example: 'Some interviewers can be extremely cruel to jobseekers.'

recruitment agency (n)

German: die Personalagentur. Example: 'He works for a recruitment agency as a headhunter.'

essentially (adv)

German: grundsätzlich. Example: 'Essentially, we use this interview technique to find people who can handle stress.'

specialist (adj)

German: spezialisiert. Example: 'He works for a specialist company that makes luxury chocolates.'

terraced (adj)

German: Reihen-. Example: 'Our house is the middle one of three terraced houses.'

estate agent (n)

German: Immobilienmakler(in). Example: 'The estate agent showed us around the house.'

drag (v)

German: (mit Mühe) ziehen. Example: 'If you drag that chair across the floor it will make a loud noise.'

odd (adj)

German: eigenartig. Example: 'Your neighbour looks really odd.'

weird (adj)

German: merkwürdig. Example: 'It's really weird that there's no one at home at this time of day.'

legible (adj)

German: leserlich. Example: 'Your signature is pretty legible.'

horizontal (adj)

German: horizontal. Example: 'He writes his signature in a straight line - it's horizontal.'

arrogant (adj)

German: arrogant. Example: 'People who sign their names in capital letters are often arrogant.'

stable (adj)

German: stabil. Example: 'Are you an emotionally stable person?'

good-tempered (adj)

German: ausgeglichen. Example: 'My mum is very good-tempered.'

open-minded (adj)

German: aufgeschlossen. Example: 'Psychotherapists need to be open-minded.'

narrow-minded (adj)

German: engstirnig. Example: 'The people who live here are judgemental and narrow-minded.'

absent-minded (adj)

German: zerstreut. Example: 'She's so absent-minded - she's always forgetting things.'

easy-going (adj)

German: gelassen. Example: 'My husband is really easy-going and calm.'

laid-back (adj)

German: entspannt. Example: 'I'm really laid-back - nothing bothers me usually.'

pretty (adv)

German: ziemlich. Example: 'My sister is pretty bad-tempered.'

rather (adv)

German: ziemlich. Example: 'My brother is rather lazy.'