{"id":11920,"date":"2020-07-29T22:30:31","date_gmt":"2020-07-29T22:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=11920"},"modified":"2020-07-29T22:30:31","modified_gmt":"2020-07-29T22:30:31","slug":"whats-the-difference-lernen-and-lehren-in-german","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/whats-the-difference-lernen-and-lehren-in-german\/","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s The Difference? Lernen And Lehren In German"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Guten Tag! This is the third and final post on the difference between some very closely linked words. These are German words that are either similar in meaning or similar in appearance (or both), which often means they are used incorrectly. This post looks at the words <strong>lehren<\/strong> (to teach) and<strong> lernen<\/strong> (to learn).<\/p>\n<p>We already know from the previous two posts that <strong>lernen<\/strong> means<strong> to learn,<\/strong> and<strong> lehren<\/strong> means<strong> to teach<\/strong> (if you have not read these posts yet, they are <a title=\"What\u2019s The Difference? Lehren And Unterrichten In German\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/whats-the-difference-lehren-and-unterrichten-in-german\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a> and <a title=\"What\u2019s The Difference? Lernen And Studieren In German\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/whats-the-difference-lernen-and-studieren-in-german\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sabine lernt Englisch.<\/strong><br \/>\nSabine is learning English.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ludwig lehrt an der Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin.<\/strong><br \/>\nLudwig teaches (lectures) at the Free University of Berlin.<\/p>\n<p>Two things might catch you out about the words<em> lernen<\/em> and<em> lehren-<\/em> firstly, how similar they look, and secondly, how similar they sound. Considering they are highly likely to be used within the same context (school, university, studying, <strong>usw<\/strong> (etc).), it would be understandable to muddle them up from time to time. I have recorded some short audio clips to help you with the pronunciation of these words.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_11930\" style=\"width: 725px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11930\" class=\" wp-image-11930\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/neonbrand-1-aA2Fadydc-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"715\" height=\"477\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/neonbrand-1-aA2Fadydc-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/neonbrand-1-aA2Fadydc-unsplash-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/neonbrand-1-aA2Fadydc-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/neonbrand-1-aA2Fadydc-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/neonbrand-1-aA2Fadydc-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 715px) 100vw, 715px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-11930\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by NeONBRAND via Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Here is the pronunciation of the word lernen (to learn):<br \/>\n<strong>&#8220;LEHR-nehn&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-11920-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/lernen.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/lernen.mp3\">https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/lernen.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>Here is the pronunciation of the word lehren (to teach):<br \/>\n<strong>&#8220;LEHR-en&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-11920-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/lehren.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/lehren.mp3\">https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/lehren.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>Now, listen to the example sentences from above, to hear the verbs used in a sentence:<\/p>\n<p>Sabine lernt Englisch (Sabine is learning English):<\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-11920-3\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/Sabine-lernt.mp3?_=3\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/Sabine-lernt.mp3\">https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/Sabine-lernt.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>Ludwig lehrt an der Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin (Ludwig teaches at the Free University of Berlin):<\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-11920-4\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/Ludwig-lehrt-2.mp3?_=4\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/Ludwig-lehrt-2.mp3\">https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/Ludwig-lehrt-2.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>*<\/p>\n<p>Hopefully that helped! Now, to get used to reading the two words and recognising their meanings, here are several, <em>other<\/em> German words that either contain the words <em>lehren<\/em> or <em>lernen<\/em>:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related to teaching (lehren):<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>der <strong>Lehr<\/strong>er &#8211; the teacher (male)<br \/>\ndie <strong>Lehr<\/strong>erin &#8211; the teacher (female)<br \/>\ndie <strong>Lehre<\/strong> &#8211; the teachings\/the doctrine<br \/>\nder <strong>Lehr<\/strong>ling &#8211; the apprentice<br \/>\ndie <strong>Lehr<\/strong>stunde &#8211; the lesson\/class (<em>die Stunde<\/em> means &#8216;hour&#8217;)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related to learning (lernen):<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>die <strong>Lern<\/strong>zeit &#8211; learning\/study time<br \/>\ndie <strong>Lern<\/strong>probleme &#8211; learning problems<br \/>\nver<strong>lernen<\/strong> &#8211; to unlearn\/forget<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_11932\" style=\"width: 687px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11932\" class=\" wp-image-11932\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/alex-samuels-bKSMXbqGN24-unsplash-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"677\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/alex-samuels-bKSMXbqGN24-unsplash-1.jpg 640w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/alex-samuels-bKSMXbqGN24-unsplash-1-350x234.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 677px) 100vw, 677px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-11932\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Alex Samuels via Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n<p>And that concludes this mini-series on closely linked words! I hope, if this confused you before, that you now have some clarity on how and when the words lernen, lehren, studieren and unterrichten are used. \ud83d\ude42 Are there are any other word combinations that trip you up when you&#8217;re learning German? Drop me a comment below and I&#8217;ll either point you in the direction of a post that explains them, or I&#8217;ll write a new one about them!<\/p>\n<p>Bis bald! (See you soon!)<br \/>\nConstanze<\/p>\n<p><strong>Previous posts:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a title=\"What\u2019s The Difference? Lernen And Studieren In German\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/whats-the-difference-lernen-and-studieren-in-german\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">studieren vs. lernen<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"What\u2019s The Difference? Lehren And Unterrichten In German\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/whats-the-difference-lehren-and-unterrichten-in-german\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">unterrichten vs. lehren<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"234\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/alex-samuels-bKSMXbqGN24-unsplash-1-350x234.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/alex-samuels-bKSMXbqGN24-unsplash-1-350x234.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/alex-samuels-bKSMXbqGN24-unsplash-1.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>Guten Tag! This is the third and final post on the difference between some very closely linked words. These are German words that are either similar in meaning or similar in appearance (or both), which often means they are used incorrectly. This post looks at the words lehren (to teach) and lernen (to learn). We&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/whats-the-difference-lernen-and-lehren-in-german\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":11932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[503854,517059,95131,376023,7465,1851,192206,551768,980,1401],"class_list":["post-11920","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","tag-curious-words","tag-dont-let-it-confuse-you","tag-german-language","tag-language","tag-learn","tag-learning","tag-pronounciation","tag-pronunciation","tag-same-words","tag-words"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11920"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11962,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11920\/revisions\/11962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}