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GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German word of the day: Beharren

If learning German feels too tough and you just want to give up, this helpful little verb should help you stay on track.

German word of the day
Photo: Francesco Ungaro / Unsplash + Nicolas Raymond / flickr

Why do I need to know beharren

This elegant verb is bound to come in useful when you’re describing something you’ve been working hard at or are struggling with, and you can also use it to give your German friends an inspiring little pep talk. 

When you’re describing the traits of friends, family, colleagues or even yourself, you may also want to include its noun form: (die) Beharrlichkeit. 

What does it mean?

Beharren (be·ha·ren) essentially means ‘to persevere’. In other words, to stick at something even when the going gets tough. It’s the quality we all need when trying to learn a new skill or speak a new language: when you’re struggling through a difficult patch and feel like you’ll never succeed, perseverance – or Beharrlichkeit – is key.

Though persevering generally has positive connotations, it can also depend slightly on the context. In fact, beharren can also be used to describe someone stubbornly sticking to an idea or project, even when it no longer makes sense. In this context, you could translate beharren as ‘to persist’ – or even ‘to insist’ – and anyone who’s ever been locked in conversation with someone who won’t back down may feel slightly less positive about this character trait.

You may admire the Beharrlichkeit of a colleague who managed to train for a marathon after recovering from a serious illness, or the student who gets brilliant grades in their degree while suffering from a learning difficulty. But when your two-year-old is learning the true meaning of beharren and refuses to go to bed before watching more cartoons, the virtue of persistence may start to seem like a curse. 

Is there any history behind it? 

Absolutely. The word beharren is believed to have originated in the word harren – an old-fashioned verb that means ‘to wait patiently or longingly’. Harren became more widespread in the medieval period and was often used by the theologian Martin Luther in his writings.

Nowadays, you’ll generally only hear the word as part of other verbs with prefixes, including ausharren, which means ‘to endure’, and beharren

Use it like this: 

Er hat auf seinem Standpunkt beharrtet.

He insisted on his point of view.

Es ist mir sehr wichtig, in meiner Bildung zu beharren. 

It’s very important to me to persevere in my education.

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GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German word of the day: Sommersonnenwende

This German word marks the changing of seasons, and the longest day of the year.

German word of the day: Sommersonnenwende

Die Sommersonnenwende, pronounced like this, is the German term for the summer solstice, which is the day that marks the meteorological beginning of summer in Germany and the northern hemisphere.

Alternative names for the day are Sommer Solstitium, which comes from the Latin term, and Mittsommer.

Like so many great German words, the term for the summer solstice is a compound noun which translates quite literally. It’s made up of three simple words: Sommer (summer), Sonnen (sun) and Wende (turn or turnaround).

So the name for the summer solstice in German is meant to remind you that this is the day that the sun ends its journey northward in the sky, and turns around.

As you can probably guess, the winter solstice is called die Wintersonnenwende.

You might recognise the term Wende from another compound noun that got a fair amount of attention in recent years – Energiewende, which means energy transition, has also been used to describe Germany’s big picture plans to phase out fossil fuel use.

The summer solstice usually falls on June 21st or 22nd. But it fell on June 20th this year, due to 2024 being a leap year.

How is ‘die Sommersonnenwende’ observed in Germany

Humans have taken note of, and celebrated, the summer solstice for thousands of years.

Archaeologists suggest that Stone Age cultures were already able to determine the day. Evidence of this was uncovered in 2004 at the site of a 7000-year-old solar observatory found in Goseck in Saxony-Anhalt.

Among Germanic tribes, the summer solstice was celebrated with pagan folk festivals that often included fire rituals.

After Christianization of the region, the Catholic Church tried to abolish the pagan solstice traditions – eventually designating the day for a memorial day for John the Baptist (June 24th), and adopting the fire as a symbol for Jesus Christ. 

Most of the original solstice traditions have been lost, but some are being reinvigorated for tourism, especially on the Baltic Sea coast.

More broadly, the long daylight hours experienced in the weeks before and after the summer solstice, offer a chance to stay out or do outdoor activities late into the evening. There are also a number of music festivals around Germany at this time of year.

READ ALSO: How to make the most of Germany’s long summer days

Use it like this:

Die Sonne geht so spät unter, es muss die Sommersonnenwende sein.

The sun is setting so late, it must be the summer solstice!

Haben Sie dieses Jahr Pläne, die Sommersonnenwende zu feiern?

Do you have plans to celebrate the summer soltice this year?

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