affair
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affair
A secret romantic relationship or sexual relationship, often outside a committed partnership or marriage. The modern spelling is 'Affäre'.
Der Politiker musste wegen einer Affaire mit seiner Praktikantin zurücktreten.
The politician had to resign because of an affair with his intern.
The spelling 'Affaire' is outdated. In modern German, the Germanized form 'Affäre' is used almost exclusively.
Die Zeitung berichtete über die politische Affäre.
The newspaper reported on the political scandal.
You can recognize the meaning from the context. If it is about a personal relationship, often with the preposition 'mit' (with), it means a romantic relationship. If the word refers to public topics such as politics or business, it means a scandal.
Er hatte eine heimliche Affäre mit einer Kollegin.
He had a secret affair with a colleague.
In connection with a romantic relationship, the word is often combined with verbs such as 'haben' (to have), 'anfangen' (to start), or 'beenden' (to end).
Sie hat die Affäre beendet, als ihr Mann davon erfuhr.
She ended the affair when her husband found out about it.
In the meaning 'Skandal' (scandal), 'Affäre' is often used as the second part of a compound to name the scandal, e.g. 'Spionage-Affäre' (espionage scandal) or 'Daten-Affäre' (data scandal).
Die Spenden-Affäre führte zu mehreren Rücktritten in der Partei.
The donations scandal led to several resignations within the party.
The general meaning 'Angelegenheit' (matter) or 'Geschäft' (business transaction) is hardly used today. It is found almost only in older texts.
In dem alten Roman war von einer „komplizierten geschäftlichen Affäre“ die Rede.
In the old novel, there was talk of a 'complicated business affair'.
case / fall
'der Fall' and 'die Affaire' can both mean a matter or a particular occurrence. 'der Fall' is neutral and very broad: it can refer to a situation, a problem, or even an investigation by the police or a court. 'die Affaire' usually means a scandalous or embarrassing matter that many people are talking about; the modern spelling is 'Affäre'. Learners may confuse the words because both can talk about events or problems. If it is factual or general, 'der Fall' fits. If a scandal or public attention is important, 'die Affaire' fits better.
Die politische Affaire wurde in den Nachrichten lange diskutiert.
The political scandal was discussed in the news for a long time.
In diesem Fall rufen wir besser zuerst die Ärztin an.
In this case, we'd better call the doctor first.