{"id":7831,"date":"2016-10-20T22:24:02","date_gmt":"2016-10-20T22:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=7831"},"modified":"2016-10-20T22:24:02","modified_gmt":"2016-10-20T22:24:02","slug":"untranslatable-german-words-lebenskunstler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/untranslatable-german-words-lebenskunstler\/","title":{"rendered":"Untranslatable German Words: Lebensk\u00fcnstler"},"content":{"rendered":"

In another post in\u00a0the awesome series on\u00a0untranslatable words in German<\/a>\u00a0that Constanze started on this blog, we will have a look at the German word\u00a0Lebensk\u00fcnstler<\/em>. It is pretty difficult to translate to English, because of its precise meaning. Let’s get into it!<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A Lebensk\u00fcnstler! (Image by AK Rockefeller at Flickr.com under license CC BY 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

What does Lebensk\u00fcnstler\u00a0<\/em>mean?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A Lebensk\u00fcnstler\u00a0<\/em>is\u00a0a person that manages to deal\u00a0with problems in life in a positive and artful way.\u00a0<\/strong>They have mastered\u00a0the Lebenskunst\u00a0<\/em>(art of living). This is a very philosophical term, which was already developed in Roman times (ars vivendi\u00a0<\/em>in Latin<\/a>). But in short, it means that by self-awareness and self-reflection, you manage to understand yourself and manage with any and every situation in life. Commonly, people do not see it as such a deep meaning, but rather as people that see everything in a positive light, and deal with life like magic.\u00a0One saying that describes this well is:\u00a0Ein Lebensk\u00fcnstler findet alles halb so schlimm, aber doppelt so gut!\u00a0<\/em>(A\u00a0Lebensk\u00fcnstler\u00a0<\/em>thinks everything is half as bad, but twice as good!)<\/p>\n

What is the literal translation of Lebensk\u00fcnstler<\/i>?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Literally,\u00a0Lebensk\u00fcnstler\u00a0<\/em>means “life artist<\/strong>“. So, somebody that practices\u00a0Lebenskunst\u00a0<\/em>(art of life).<\/p>\n

How would you use the word Lebensk\u00fcnstler\u00a0<\/em>in a sentence?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You can simply call somebody a\u00a0Lebensk\u00fcnstler<\/em>, so you get a sentence like this:<\/p>\n

Jemand hat bei Markus eingebrochen, aber er hat es sehr gelassen genommen. Er ist solch ein Lebensk\u00fcnstler!\u00a0<\/em>(Somebody broke in at Markus’s, but he took it very relaxed. He is such a\u00a0life artist!)<\/p>\n

Alexandra verdient nicht viel, aber dennoch ist sie einfach gl\u00fccklich mit dem, was sie hat und kommt mit allen Problemen gut klar. Sie ist solch eine Lebensk\u00fcnstlerin!\u00a0<\/em>(Alexandra does not make a lot of money, and yet she is simply happy with what she has and manages all her problems well. She is such a life artist!)<\/p>\n

These examples show in what kind of situations the word may be used!<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the nearest English equivalent to Lebensk\u00fcnstler<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The word that comes closest in English is a hedonist<\/strong>, which also exists in German (der Hedonist<\/em>). The small difference is that a hedonist pursues as much pleasure as possible in life, whereas a\u00a0Lebensk\u00fcnstler\u00a0<\/em>tries to get most joy out of life by mastering the art of life. Most of the time, a positive view on life is required for that, and that is where the parallel with the hedonist exists.<\/p>\n

Do you get the concept of a\u00a0Lebensk\u00fcnstler<\/em>? Do you know any\u00a0Lebensk\u00fcnstler<\/em>, or is there a word in your language that equates to\u00a0Lebensk\u00fcnstler<\/em>? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

In another post in\u00a0the awesome series on\u00a0untranslatable words in German\u00a0that Constanze started on this blog, we will have a look at the German word\u00a0Lebensk\u00fcnstler. It is pretty difficult to translate to English, because of its precise meaning. Let’s get into it! What does Lebensk\u00fcnstler\u00a0mean? A Lebensk\u00fcnstler\u00a0is\u00a0a person that manages to deal\u00a0with problems in life in…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":7860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,8],"tags":[457048,457047,337679,257573],"class_list":["post-7831","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-language","tag-lebenskunst","tag-life-artist","tag-untranslatable-german","tag-untranslatable-words"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t