committee / scrap
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committee
A group of people assigned by a larger organization (e.g., a parliament or association) to deal with specific tasks or topics.
Der Untersuchungsausschuss soll die politischen Hintergründe des Skandals klären.
The investigative committee is supposed to clarify the political background of the scandal.
Both meanings come from the verb 'ausschießen'. This could mean selecting someone from a group for a task (forming a committee) or sorting something out from a quantity because it is bad (defective goods).
Fehlerhafte Produkte werden sofort ausgeschossen.
Faulty products are sorted out immediately.
The meaning becomes clear from the context. If people are talking about politics, clubs, or organizations, the group of people ('der Ausschuss', committee) is meant. If people are talking about production, factories, or quality, the sorted-out goods ('der Ausschuss', scrap/rejects) are meant.
Der Finanzausschuss des Bundestags tagt heute.
The Bundestag's finance committee is meeting today.
In a political or organizational context, 'Ausschuss' is often used with verbs like 'gründen' (to found/establish), 'einsetzen' (to appoint/set up), or in phrases like 'in einem Ausschuss sitzen' (to sit on a committee).
Für das Problem wurde ein spezieller Ausschuss gegründet.
A special committee was established for the problem.
In the meaning 'defective goods', 'Ausschuss' is an uncountable noun (mass noun). You say 'viel Ausschuss' (a lot of scrap), but not 'drei Ausschüsse' (three scraps).
Das Ziel ist es, den Ausschuss in der Produktion zu reduzieren.
The goal is to reduce scrap in production.
advice / council
'der Rat' and 'der Ausschuss' can both refer to a group of people that discusses topics and prepares or makes decisions. 'Rat' is often the larger or more important group, for example in a city or organization. 'Ausschuss' more often means a smaller group appointed by a larger group for a specific topic. Learners may confuse the words because both occur in politics, associations, or schools. A practical guide is: a 'Rat' is often the whole governing body, while an 'Ausschuss' usually deals with a specific topic.
Der Ausschuss für Schule bespricht heute die Pläne für die neue Bibliothek.
The school committee is discussing the plans for the new library today.
Der Rat der Stadt entscheidet nächste Woche über den neuen Sportplatz.
The city council will decide next week about the new sports field.