ball / bale / root ball
der Ballen, die Ballen
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ball / pad
A thick, fleshy area on the palm of the hand or the sole of the foot. In animals, the word also refers to the soft pads underneath the paws.
Nach der langen Wanderung taten ihr die Ballen unter den Zehen weh.
After the long hike, the balls of her feet hurt.
bale
A large bundle of material that is tightly compressed, rolled up, or tied together for storage or transport.
Die Baumwolle wird in großen Ballen nach Europa verschifft.
The cotton is shipped to Europe in large bales.
root ball
A rounded lump of soft or loose material. It particularly often refers to the soil that holds together around a plant's roots.
Die Gärtnerin hob den Strauch mit dem ganzen Ballen aus der Erde.
The gardener lifted the shrub out of the ground with its entire root ball.
| gender | masculine der |
|---|---|
| plural | die Ballen |
| genitive | des Ballens |
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | der Ballen | die Ballen |
| accusative | den Ballen | die Ballen |
| dative | dem Ballen | den Ballen |
| genitive | des Ballens | der Ballen |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
The words accompanying 'Ballen' (ball / bale / root ball) usually indicate its meaning: body parts or 'Pfoten' (paws) point to a soft part of the body, materials such as hay or straw point to a compressed bundle, and 'Wurzeln' (roots) or 'Pflanze' (plant) point to the soil around the roots.
Die Katze leckte sich die Ballen an den Pfoten.
The cat licked the pads on its paws.
Die Ballen aus Stroh wurden auf dem Hof gestapelt.
The bales of straw were stacked in the farmyard.
Beim Umpflanzen blieb der Ballen an den Wurzeln vollständig erhalten.
During transplanting, the root ball remained completely intact.
In this sense, 'Ballen' (pad) often appears in compounds such as 'Handballen' (heel of the hand), 'Fußballen' (ball of the foot), and 'Pfotenballen' (paw pad). To describe discomfort, common patterns include 'Schmerzen im Ballen haben' (to have pain in the ball of the foot) or 'der Ballen tut weh' (the pad or ball of the foot hurts).
Seit sie die neuen Schuhe trägt, hat sie Schmerzen im Ballen.
Since she started wearing the new shoes, she has had pain in the ball of her foot.
Der Hund hatte sich am Ballen verletzt.
The dog had injured its paw pad.
For compressed or tied material, common combinations include 'Heuballen' (hay bale), 'Strohballen' (straw bale), and 'Ballen stapeln' (to stack bales). A verb often describes how the bales are made, for example 'zu Ballen pressen' (to compress into bales) or 'Ballen schnüren' (to tie up bales).
Die Landwirte stapelten die Ballen neben der Scheune.
The farmers stacked the bales next to the barn.
Die Maschine presst das Stroh zu großen Ballen.
The machine compresses the straw into large bales.
In horticulture, 'Ballen' (ball / root ball) particularly often refers to the soil that remains around a plant's roots when it is dug up. The word therefore often appears with 'Wurzel-' (root-) or with verbs such as 'ausgraben' (to dig up), 'einpflanzen' (to plant), and 'bewässern' (to water).
Beim Einpflanzen sollte der Ballen mit der Erdoberfläche abschließen.
When planting, the root ball should be level with the soil surface.
Vor dem Transport wurde der Ballen vorsichtig mit Wasser befeuchtet.
Before transport, the root ball was carefully moistened with water.
