burial / funeral
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burial / funeral
A ceremony in which a deceased person is buried in the ground. It often includes a funeral service and the actual placing of the coffin or urn in the grave.
Die Beerdigung findet am Freitag auf dem städtischen Friedhof statt.
The funeral will take place on Friday at the municipal cemetery.
The word is derived from 'Erde' (earth). The prefix 'be-' and the ending '-igung' turn it into an action: bringing someone 'to earth'. So it literally describes the process of burying a person in the ground.
Die Beerdigung war eine sehr emotionale Zeremonie.
The funeral was a very emotional ceremony.
'Die Beerdigung' (the burial / funeral) belongs to the word family of 'die Erde' (the earth). The related verb is 'beerdigen', which means 'begraben' (to bury).
Der Verstorbene wurde im engsten Familienkreis beerdigt.
The deceased was buried in the closest family circle.
To express attendance, different prepositions are used: you go 'zu einer Beerdigung' (to a funeral), but you are 'auf einer Beerdigung' (at a funeral).
Morgen gehe ich zur Beerdigung meines ehemaligen Kollegen.
Tomorrow I'm going to the funeral of my former colleague.
You can recognize the figurative meaning by the fact that it always refers to abstract things like a plan, a hope, or a project, not to a person.
Die Entscheidung des Chefs war die Beerdigung unserer kreativen Ideen.
The boss's decision was the end of our creative ideas.
end
'das Ende' and 'die Beerdigung' can both have to do with something final. 'das Ende' generally means the close or ending of something, for example of an event, a plan, or even of life. 'die Beerdigung', on the other hand, is a concrete ceremony after a person's death. Figuratively, 'Beerdigung' can also mean the final failure of an idea or hope. In that case, it sounds stronger and more figurative than 'Ende'.
Die Familie bereitet die Beerdigung für den nächsten Freitag vor.
The family is preparing the funeral for next Friday.
Nach drei Stunden kam das Ende des Films sehr überraschend.
After three hours, the end of the film came as a great surprise.