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gang
A group of people who carry out criminal or illegal activities together.
Die Polizei konnte die gesamte Bande nach monatelangen Ermittlungen festnehmen.
The police were able to arrest the entire gang after months of investigation.
When 'Bande' (gang) is used in the context of crime, words like 'Polizei' (police), 'festnehmen' (to arrest), 'kriminell' (criminal), 'Diebstahl' (theft), or 'Raub' (robbery) often appear in the same sentence or text.
Die Polizei hat drei Mitglieder der Diebesbande verhaftet.
The police arrested three members of the gang of thieves.
In a sports context, you can recognize this meaning from sports such as 'Eishockey' (ice hockey) or 'Billard' (billiards). A typical preposition is 'gegen' (against), as in 'gegen die Bande fahren' (to skate/crash into the boards) or 'gegen die Bande stoßen' (to bump into the boards).
Der Puck prallte von der Bande zurück ins Spielfeld.
The puck bounced off the boards back into the playing area.
The use of 'Bande' (bunch/gang) for a group of children or friends is colloquial. The tone can be slightly negative, but also affectionate and joking.
Was hat diese laute Bande schon wieder angestellt?
What has this noisy bunch been up to again?
ring
'der Ring' and 'die Bande' can both refer to a group that does illegal things together. 'Bande' directly describes a criminal group of people. 'Ring' often sounds more organized and secretive, for example when many people or offices work together. Learners may confuse the words because both appear in news reports about crime. As a simple guide: a 'Bande' is the criminal group itself; a 'Ring' is often a larger, well-organized system.
Am Montag nahm die Polizei eine Bande von Einbrechern fest.
On Monday, the police arrested a gang of burglars.
Nach langer Ermittlung wurde ein internationaler Ring von Schmugglern gestoppt.
After a long investigation, an international ring of smugglers was stopped.