significance
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significance
The degree to which a piece of information, a study, an image, or a statistic is meaningful and allows reliable conclusions to be drawn.
Die Umfrage hat nur eine geringe Aussagekraft, da zu wenige Personen teilgenommen haben.
The survey has only limited significance because too few people participated.
The word consists of 'Aussage' (statement) and 'Kraft' (power). So it literally describes the 'power' or strength that a statement, a piece of information, or a piece of evidence has.
Die Aussagekraft dieses alten Fotos ist enorm.
The significance of this old photo is enormous.
'Aussagekraft' (significance) is often combined with the adjectives 'hoch' (high), 'stark' (strong), 'gering' (limited/low), or 'schwach' (weak). Something can 'haben' (have) or 'besitzen' (possess) Aussagekraft.
Ohne mehr Daten hat die Studie nur eine geringe Aussagekraft.
Without more data, the study has only limited significance.
To say whose or what significance is meant, you use the preposition 'von' followed by the dative. This structure clarifies what is being evaluated.
Der Richter zweifelte an der Aussagekraft von der Zeugenaussage.
The judge doubted the significance of the witness statement.
relevance
'die Relevanz' and 'die Aussagekraft' can both be important when talking about information, studies, or figures. 'Relevanz' says whether a piece of information is important for a topic or decision. 'Aussagekraft' says how much can be reliably recognized or concluded from a piece of information. Learners may confuse the words because a study is often expected to be both relevant and meaningful. The difference is: relevance concerns the question 'Is it important for us?', while 'Aussagekraft' concerns the question 'Can we really draw conclusions from it?'.
Bei nur zehn Teilnehmern ist die Aussagekraft der Umfrage sehr gering.
With only ten participants, the survey has very little significance.
Die Chefin prüft die Relevanz der Zahlen für die nächste Besprechung.
The boss checks the relevance of the figures for the next meeting.