bange
anxious / afraid
Feeling fear, worry, or unease. Often used in the expression 'jemandem ist/wird bange' (someone is/becomes anxious).
EXAMPLE
Mir ist ein wenig bange vor der Prüfung morgen.
I am a little anxious about the exam tomorrow.
bange
anxious
Checking...
Loading your saved state.
Meanings
jemandem bange machen
to frighten someone
To cause a person fear or worry.
EXAMPLE
Die dunklen Wolken am Horizont machten ihm bange.
The dark clouds on the horizon frightened him.
Usage tips
Sentence structure and use
The adjective 'bange' is used almost exclusively predicatively, meaning it comes after the noun and a verb such as 'sein' (to be) or 'werden' (to become). Using it directly before a noun (e.g. 'der bange Mann') is very rare and sounds unnatural.
EXAMPLE
Dem Kind war nach dem Albtraum noch ganz bange.
After the nightmare, the child still felt very anxious.
Dative construction
The feeling is expressed with the fixed expression 'jemandem ist bange' (someone is anxious) or 'jemandem wird bange' (someone becomes anxious). The person who feels the fear is always in the dative.
EXAMPLE
Mir wird bange, wenn ich an die Zukunft denke.
I get anxious when I think about the future.
Fixed expression
To express that something or someone causes fear, you use the expression 'jemandem bange machen' (to frighten someone). Here too, the person who becomes afraid is in the dative.
EXAMPLE
Mit seinen Schauergeschichten wollte er uns nur bange machen.
With his scary stories, he only wanted to frighten us.
Compare with
bange vs ängstlich
anxious / fearful
Ängstlich and bange can both express fear or worry. Ängstlich usually describes the person directly. Bange is especially often used in the form „jemandem ist oder wird bange“ (someone is or becomes anxious), thereby focusing on the feeling as it arises.
bange
Vor der wichtigen Prüfung ist ihr bange.
She feels anxious about the important exam.
ängstlich
Sie wirkt vor der wichtigen Prüfung ängstlich.
She seems anxious about the important exam.
In real life
Loading video examples...