die Abwesenheit
absence
The state of not being present or not being there at a particular place.
EXAMPLE
Während seiner Abwesenheit hat ihn sein Kollege vertreten.
During his absence, his colleague filled in for him.
die Abwesenheit
absence
die Abwesenheit, die Abwesenheiten
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Meanings
die Abwesenheit
absence
The lack or nonexistence of something.
EXAMPLE
Die Abwesenheit von Beweisen bedeutet nicht automatisch, dass er unschuldig ist.
The absence of evidence does not automatically mean that he is innocent.
die Abwesenheit
absent-mindedness
A state of mental distraction or inattention in which a person is not mentally focused on what is happening.
EXAMPLE
Er starrte mit einem Ausdruck völliger Abwesenheit aus dem Fenster.
He stared out the window with an expression of complete absent-mindedness.
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry Abwesenheit, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
At a glance
| gender | feminine die |
|---|---|
| plural | die Abwesenheiten |
| genitive | der Abwesenheit |
The four cases
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | die Abwesenheit | die Abwesenheiten |
| accusative | die Abwesenheit | die Abwesenheiten |
| dative | der Abwesenheit | den Abwesenheiten |
| genitive | der Abwesenheit | der Abwesenheiten |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
Usage tips
Word family
'Die Abwesenheit' (absence) is the noun form of the adjective 'abwesend' (absent/not there). The ending '-heit' is often used to form a noun from an adjective that describes a state.
EXAMPLE
Der Lehrer war letzte Woche abwesend.
The teacher was absent last week.
Seine Abwesenheit fiel sofort auf.
His absence was noticed immediately.
Use with genitive
If you want to say who is not present, you usually use the genitive or a possessive pronoun. A very common phrase is 'während [jemandes] Abwesenheit' (during [someone's] absence).
EXAMPLE
Während der Abwesenheit des Chefs wurden keine Entscheidungen getroffen.
During the boss's absence, no decisions were made.
Ich habe während deiner Abwesenheit die Blumen gegossen.
I watered the flowers during your absence.
Sentence structure with 'von'
In the meaning 'das Fehlen von etwas' (the lack of something), the preposition 'von' + dative is often used to say what is not present. Alternatively, the genitive can also be used.
EXAMPLE
Die Abwesenheit von klaren Regeln führte zu Chaos.
The absence of clear rules led to chaos.
Man kritisierte die Abwesenheit jeglichen Mitgefühls.
People criticized the absence of any compassion.
Context clue
You can recognize the meaning 'geistige Zerstreutheit' (mental distraction/absent-mindedness) because it refers to a person's mental state, not their physical presence. It is often intensified by adjectives such as 'geistig' (mental) or 'völlig' (complete).
EXAMPLE
Sie hörte nicht zu und war in einem Zustand geistiger Abwesenheit.
She wasn't listening and was in a state of mental absent-mindedness.
Compare with
Abwesenheit vs fehlen
to be absent / to be missing
When referring to things, fehlen directly indicates that something necessary is not present. Die Abwesenheit names this state as a noun and requires a suitable noun construction. With specific missing things, fehlen usually sounds more natural and simpler.
Abwesenheit
Die Abwesenheit wichtiger Angaben zu den Kosten macht den Bericht unklar.
The absence of important information about the costs makes the report unclear.
fehlen
Im Bericht fehlen wichtige Angaben zu den Kosten.
Important information about the costs is missing from the report.
In real life
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