affair
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affair
A secret sexual or romantic relationship, especially when at least one of the people involved is married or in a committed relationship.
Sie beendete die Affäre, als sie merkte, dass er seine Frau niemals verlassen würde.
She ended the affair when she realized that he would never leave his wife.
scandal
An event or matter that attracts public attention and often constitutes a scandal.
Die Spenden-Affäre zwang den Minister zum Rücktritt.
The donations scandal forced the minister to resign.
matter
A matter, incident, or issue, often with a complicated or unpleasant connotation.
Zieh mich da nicht mit hinein, das ist deine Affäre!
Don't drag me into this; that's your affair!
'Affäre' can, like the English 'affair', mean a secret romantic relationship. In German, however, it is also used much more often for a public scandal (e.g., 'eine politische Affäre' — a political scandal) or an unpleasant matter.
Die Watergate-Affäre führte zum Rücktritt des US-Präsidenten.
The Watergate affair led to the resignation of the U.S. president.
When it refers to a romantic relationship, 'Affäre' (affair) is often combined with the verbs 'eine Affäre haben' (to have an affair), 'eine Affäre anfangen' (to start an affair), or 'eine Affäre beenden' (to end an affair).
Er hat eine Affäre mit seiner Kollegin.
He is having an affair with his colleague.
In the meaning of 'Skandal' (scandal), '-affäre' is a very productive word element. It is often attached to another noun to name the type of scandal, e.g., 'Bau-Affäre' (construction scandal), 'Spionage-Affäre' (espionage scandal), or 'Daten-Affäre' (data scandal).
Die Zeitung deckte eine große Finanz-Affäre auf.
The newspaper uncovered a major financial scandal.
In the meaning of 'Angelegenheit' (matter), the word is often used colloquially and slightly disparagingly. It is then frequently combined with a possessive pronoun: 'Das ist deine Affäre!' (That's your affair!).
Ich will mit dieser peinlichen Affäre nichts zu tun haben.
I don't want to have anything to do with this embarrassing affair.
case / fall
Der Fall and die Affäre can refer to the same problematic incident. Fall presents it as a defined subject of an investigation; Affäre emphasizes the public attention and possible scandal. The choice therefore depends on whether the focus is on the investigation or the controversy.
Die Presse berichtet täglich über die Affäre um die verschwundenen Spendengelder.
The press reports on the scandal involving the missing donation money every day.
Die Polizei untersucht den Fall der verschwundenen Spendengelder.
The police are investigating the case of the missing donation money.
