motto / foreign exchange
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motto
A short guiding principle, motto, or slogan that summarizes a personal attitude, a goal, or the principle of action of a group.
„Weniger ist mehr“ ist meine Devise beim Packen für den Urlaub.
'Less is more' is my motto when packing for vacation.
A guiding principle is often introduced directly after 'die Devise lautet' (the motto is) or 'die Devise ist' (the motto is) with a colon and sometimes in quotation marks.
Für unser Team gilt die Devise: Gemeinsam sind wir stark.
For our team, the motto is: Together we are strong.
When 'Devise' means a motto, it is often used with verbs such as 'haben' (to have) or 'folgen' (to follow). For example, you can say 'eine Devise haben' (to have a motto) or 'einer Devise folgen' (to follow a motto).
Er hat die Devise, jeden Tag etwas Gutes zu tun.
His motto is to do something good every day.
The meaning 'foreign currency' is used almost exclusively in the plural 'die Devisen' (foreign exchange/foreign currency). So if you see the plural, it is about money and finance, not a motto.
Das Land hat nicht genügend Devisen, um die Importe zu bezahlen.
The country does not have enough foreign exchange to pay for the imports.
principle
'das Prinzip' and 'die Devise' can both describe what someone is guided by when acting. 'das Prinzip' is a fundamental rule or belief. 'die Devise' is more like a short guiding phrase or a motto that summarizes this attitude in a simple way. They can be confused because a motto is often based on a principle. If you mean the fixed rule itself, 'Prinzip' is more natural. If you mean a short phrase like a motto, 'Devise' fits better.
Im Team lautet die Devise: ruhig bleiben und gemeinsam eine Lösung finden.
The team's motto is: stay calm and find a solution together.
Bei der Planung gilt das Prinzip, zuerst die wichtigsten Aufgaben zu erledigen.
In planning, the principle is to do the most important tasks first.