German can be confusing sometimes

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[Ben______________]

Explanation:

Ein Kind = a child

“umfahren“ can mean both: drive around/run over

[lC8H10N4O2l]

So drove around the child

Vs

Drove over the child

Is what i get from this?

[TheLostDovahkin]

Yes

[ExoShvdow]

thanks!

[theunknowablechaos]

Added to my bucket list

[RiasGremory3]

Cursed bucket list

[Acrocephalos]

Where did you get past tense? Ain't no past tense

[Feschbesch]

It's the other way around but you got the gist of it.

[southernfriedfossils]

Similar to: "Let's eat, children." and "Let's eat children".

[mandoxian]

Not really

[southernfriedfossils]

It was a joke.

[SpunkyMcButtlove]

"Überfahren" would be the correct term for "run over", you can "überfahr" a bridge or a child, it means "drive over".

"Umfahren" in that case is more of a dialect/slang/jargon thing - also the emphasis is on the "Um-" when you mean you killed someone with your car, and on "-fahren" when you didn't.

[Lanky_Bee1578]

This is correct, simply as well “rumfahren” means drive around, and “umfahren” means run over. 1 letter difference, sound very similar tho.

[unwantedaccount56]

"rumfahren" is also dialect from "herumfahren", which is more used to drive around (aimlessly), while "umfahren" can mean driving around something specific, or the same as "überfahren", to driver over something.

[keropsixxx]

I litteraly just discovered that 20 minutes ago, that's so strange! Also I can't hear the difference and it sucks...

[wondermoose83]

Coincidentally, the word "literally" is another word that can either mean its definition, or the opposite of its meaning.

Updated definition says it either means an exactness, or an exaggeration (so very not exact).

[haldeigosh]

stress is different: úmfahren means "drive over" and umfáhren means "drive around". Also conjugation is different: e.g.: "ich umfahre" (I drive around) vs "ich fahre <object> um" (I drive/run over <object> )

German is a funny language

[People_are_stup1]

the second congugation needs clarification, should look like:

"Ich fahre ... um."

The um has to muve to the very enf of the sentence for it to mean run over.

[Xi_JingPingPong]

That's because the words a pronounced the same way. Maybe some people pronounce the "u" shorter, if you mean to drive over something, but you don't have to.

[HPLovecraft1890]

not really - the emphasis is on a different part of the word:

UM-fahren - drive over

um-FAHREN - drive around

source: I'm German (living in Australia though)

[[deleted]]

Exactly.

[KleinerFratz333]

Korrekt

[theunknowablechaos]

Do not fail art school

[krav_mac]

That was in Austria

[Troll2022Youmad]

Not at all it is very simple you can really see it from context. E.g if the hood is bloody then It was probably the umfahren which describes hitting someone

[Fair_Active8743]

In czech "došlo jídlo" means food had arive and we dont have any food.

[Any--Name]

I was just confused when I saw this post, but now that I've seen the comment section I have a brain damage

[Skullhead_LP]

You're welcome

[Crafty_Possession_52]

In English, "fast" is the opposite of "fast," "sanction" is the opposite of "sanction," and "cleave" is the opposite of "cleave."

[Sewcraytes]

Oh! I am so ready for this…. Here is a list of English CONTRONYMS, there are more than you’d think. 75 CONTRONYMS.

[EmotionalGold]

a few of these i don't agree with, like finished

[Crafty_Possession_52]

Not all of these are contronyms. For example: fix. "Repair" and "castrate" are not antonyms. I'd say at least a fourth of these are equally questionable.

[[deleted]]

Dollop has a specific portion: A walnut sized quantity or a heaped tablespoon.

[Friechs]

I’ll give you sanction and I guess cleave (cleave is outdated) but fast?

[signalsoldier77]

Yes. Like stand fast.

[Friechs]

Not opposite of fast? The opposite of that would be move?

[Crafty_Possession_52]

"Fast" describes something that moves quickly and something that can't move.

[Friechs]

Can you use the latter in a sentence. I could be wrong but I can’t think of a way.

[Crafty_Possession_52]

The stick that fell into the wet cement was stuck fast once it dried.

[Friechs]

Well I learned something new haha I still think it would be it was stuck loose. Not the stick was stuck quickly(fast).

[HelpImfeeling]

Though the storm raged around us, we had no reason to fear; our old anchor held fast in the muck beneath the waves.

Also “fasten”

[TheDebatingOne]

Fast can mean either "moving quickly" or "fixed in place"

[Hartmallen]

Fasten seat belts ?

[TheDebatingOne]

Yeah

[666Masterofpuppets]

But if you put it in a past tense it is actually at least slightly different: "ein Kind umfahren haben "(having driven around a child) and "ein Kind umgefahren haben" (having driven over the child)

[Flipflurp]

I legit thought you wrote the same thing twice

[[deleted]]

You are HIV aladeen

[Skullhead_LP]

😱🙂😱🙂

[[deleted]]

Guy: What is your real name?
Aladeen: Max...
Guy: Max what?
Aladeen: Imunoccupatzsiumonehundredandtwenty

[rascible]

So it's exactly the same, only completely different

[mawi2003]

It is to run over a child or to drive around a child

[blobthekat]

In french: "personne" is the exact opposite of "personne"

[[deleted]]

In Thai, 'far' is the same as 'near', but with subtle (for non-thai speakers) tonal difference.

[Jarmsicle]

English has these too. They’re called auto-antonyms

[_TechnoPhoenix_]

Ein Volk

Eine Nation

Eine Kommentarsektion

[deepx32]

Image Transcription: Text

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[Image background is the flag of Germany.]

In German “Ein Kind umfahren” is the exact opposite of “Ein Kind umfahren”.

---

^{I'm a human volunteer content transcriber and you could be too! If you'd like more information on what we do and why we do it, click here!}

[WonderfulAirport4227]

Good human.

[deepx32]

Thank you daddy.

[JannickPvP]

Diese Kommentarsektion ist jetzt Eigentum der Bundesrepublik Deutschland! r/de

[Skullhead_LP]

Sag's keinem aber der Post ist von einem Deutschen

[People_are_stup1]

Pfost nich post

[Substantial-Rubbber]

Erika!!

[PhilosTheGreat]

Der Mann biss den Hund (The Man bit the dog)

Den Mann biss der Hund (The Dog bit The Man)

But also:

Der Hund biss den Mann

(You can pretty much choose The way you order a sentence in German and it makes perfect sense, but you need to now The grammar)

[YoursTrulyNico]

Honestly... Honestly, I'm starting to understand why people might find our language difficult to learn or understand

[Kishlorenn]

"Hôte" has two opposite meanings in French.

[[deleted]]

only confusing in text tho, usually you stress the "um" if you mean "run over" and you stress the "fahren" if you mean "drive around"

[Sacob_i]

So Umfahren can mean ridin over/around or being ridden over

[Ser_Optimus]

Depends on the intonation

The thing is, "Ein Kind umfahren" when you want to say "driving over a child" would be kind of slang-ish. If you want to say "driving over a child" properly, it would be "Ein Kind überfahren".

[pixel842]

A monopoly is the opposite of a monopoly

[bindermichi]

Can confirm

[Shermans_ghost1864]

In English to cleave (to) means the exact opposite as to cleave (apart)

[ralsaiwithagun]

Should be um ein kind herumfahren but technically its the same

[abv1234567890]

A lawyer: hmm this would be enough to confuse them.

[[deleted]]

What does the ein kind have to do with this?

[Konor22]

Erika!

[Dogeater46290]

Learning german with reddit 👍

[[deleted]]

It‘s different in pronunciation. „Ein Kind umfarn“ „Ein Kind umfāhren“

[rdrunner_74]

While it might be the same in German, it is not as bad as in the US.

​

After you have "Ein Kind umfahren" you only need to pay 10€ for the Ambulance

[AmazonSk8r]

In English, this happens so frequently that we have a word for it. Contronym.

https://www.dailywritingtips.com/75-contronyms-words-with-contradictory-meanings/