Vocab skills: Word families
Methode 3: Wortfamilien (word families)
Eine weitere sinnvolle Methode, den Wortschatz aufzubereiten, ist es, Wortfamilien anzulegen. Sie gehen von einem Ihnen bekannten Wort aus und suchen dann weitere Wörter, die vom selben Wortstamm abgeleitet werden. Dies sind meist Wörter anderer Wortarten, die häufig durch Anhängen einer Vor- oder Nachsilbe gebildet werden.
Wortfamilie „to decide“
| to decide (v) | to make a choice | (sich) entscheiden |
| decision (n) | a choice that you make after a period of thought | Entscheidung |
| decision-making (n) | the process of thinking about a problem and then making a choice |
Entscheidungsfindung |
| indecision (n) | the state of being unable to decide what to do | Unentschlossenheit, Unschlüssigkeit |
| decided (adj) | easily noticed and definite | deutlich |
| decidedly (adv) | 1) definitely 2) in a way that shows that you are sure |
1) sicherlich 2) entschieden |
| undecided (adj) | 1) not having made a decision 2) without a definite winner |
1) unschlüssig 2) unentschieden |
| decisiveness (n) | the ability to make decisions with determination | Entschlossenheit, Bestimmtheit |
| decisive (adj) | 1) with a powerful effect 2) good at making decisions |
1) ausschlaggebend 2) entscheidungsfreudig |
| decisively (adv) | in a way that shows a powerful effect | entscheidend, ausschlaggebend |
| indecisive (adj) | unable to make clear decisions | unentschlossen, unschlüssig |
Wortfamilie „to doubt“
| to doubt (v) | to think that s.th. might not be true | zweifeln, anzweifeln |
| doubt (n) | a choice that you make after a period of thought | Zweifel |
| doubter | a sceptical person | Zweifler |
| doubtful (adj) | 1) having doubts about s.th. 2) unlikely |
1) unsicher 2) zweifelhaft, unsicher |
| doubtfully (adv) | sceptically | skeptisch, voller Zweifel |
| doubtless (adv) | used when saying s.th. that you believe to be true although you can’t prove it exactly |
zweifelsohne |
| doubting Thomas | s.o. who doubts things he or she has not seen | ungläubiger Thomas |
| undoubted (adj) | definitely true | zweifellos, unbestritten |
| undoubtedly (adv) | certainly | zweifellos, ohne Zweifel |
Wortfamilie „to estimate“
| to estimate (v) | to try to judge the value, size, cost etc. of s.th. | schätzen, einschätzen |
| estimate (n) | 1) a calculation of the value, size, cost etc. of s.th. 2) a statement of how much s.th. will probably cost |
1) Schätzung 2) Kostenvoranschlag |
| estimation (n) | 1) your opinion of the value of s.th. 2) respect or admiration for s.b. |
1) Einschätzung 2) Wertschätzung, Achtung |
| estimator (n) | s.o. who estimates the value of s.th. | Schätzer |
| estimated (adj) | partly calculated and partly guessed | geschätzt, schätzungsweise |
| to overestimate (v) | to think that s.th. is better than it really is | überschätzen |
| to underestimate (v) | to think that s.th. is smaller or cheaper than it really is or that s.o. is not as good or clever as he really is |
unterschätzen |