belanglos
irrelevant / trivial
Without meaning, importance, or interest; insignificant or trivial.
EXAMPLE
Wir unterhielten uns über belanglose Dinge wie das Wetter.
We talked about trivial things like the weather.
belanglos
irrelevant / trivial
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Meanings
Usage tips
Word formation
The word is made up of 'der Belang' (importance, significance) and the ending '-los' (without). So 'belanglos' literally means 'without significance' or 'without importance'.
EXAMPLE
Diese Information ist für unsere Entscheidung ohne Belang.
This information is irrelevant to our decision.
Typical collocations
'Belanglos' often describes communication or information. Typical combinations are 'belangloser Smalltalk' (trivial small talk), 'ein belangloses Gespräch' (a trivial conversation), or 'belanglose Details' (irrelevant details).
EXAMPLE
Auf der Party führten wir nur belanglose Gespräche.
At the party, we only had trivial conversations.
Slightly negative tone
Although 'belanglos' simply means 'unimportant', it often has a slightly negative or dismissive connotation. It implies that something is not only unimportant, but also uninteresting or even a waste of time.
EXAMPLE
Ich möchte meine Zeit nicht mit solch belanglosen Problemen verschwenden.
I don't want to waste my time on such trivial problems.
Compare with
belanglos vs unwichtig
unimportant
Unwichtig can neutrally state that something is not a high priority for the current goal. Belanglos often judges the content more strongly, dismissing it as trivial or without real value. Unwichtig suits an objective assessment; belanglos is more appropriate for a clearly dismissive judgment.
belanglos
Die Bemerkung über die Farbe ist belanglos und trägt nichts zur Diskussion bei.
The remark about the color is trivial and adds nothing to the discussion.
unwichtig
Die Bemerkung über die Farbe ist für unsere Entscheidung unwichtig.
The remark about the color is unimportant to our decision.
In real life
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