discreet / discrete
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discreet
Behaving in a way that is unobtrusive and keeps confidential information to oneself; tactful and discreet.
Der Hotelpage übergab den Brief absolut diskret, ohne dass die anderen Gäste etwas bemerkten.
The hotel bellhop handed over the letter absolutely discreetly, without the other guests noticing anything.
You can recognize the meaning of 'diskret' (discreet/discrete) from the context. If people, behavior, or information are being discussed, it means 'unobtrusive' or 'discreet'. In mathematics or technology, it means 'in individual units', not continuous.
Er hat mir die Nachricht ganz diskret zugesteckt.
He slipped me the message very discreetly.
In the meaning 'verschwiegen' (discreet/keeping things confidential), 'diskret' (discreet) is often combined with verbs and nouns that have to do with communication and behavior: 'diskret sein' (to be discreet), 'sich diskret verhalten' (to behave discreetly), 'eine diskrete Frage' (a discreet question), or 'ein diskreter Hinweis' (a discreet hint).
Bitte sei bei diesem Thema absolut diskret und sprich mit niemandem darüber.
Please be absolutely discreet about this topic and don't talk to anyone about it.
'Diskret' (discreetly) is very often used as an adverb to describe how an action is carried out. It then usually stands directly next to the verb.
Sie verließ den Raum so diskret wie möglich.
She left the room as discreetly as possible.
The meaning 'consisting of individual units' is purely technical language. It is used almost exclusively in scientific or technical contexts such as mathematics, physics, or computer science.
Ein digitales Bild besteht aus einer diskreten Anzahl von Pixeln.
A digital image consists of a discrete number of pixels.
digital
'digital' and 'diskret' can be confused in technical or mathematical topics. 'digital' means that information is in a form that a computer can process. In mathematics and physics, 'diskret' means that something consists of individual, separate values or units and is not continuous. Digital data often works with such individual values, which is why the words are close to each other. Still, they are not the same: 'digital' refers to computers and data format, while 'diskret' describes the nature of the values. In everyday language, 'diskret' also means 'discreet' or 'unobtrusive', which has nothing to do with 'digital'.
Das Gerät misst die Temperatur in diskreten Schritten und nicht stufenlos.
The device measures the temperature in discrete steps, not continuously.
Sie speichert den Termin digital, damit sie ihn morgen am Telefon schnell findet.
She saves the appointment digitally so she can quickly find it on the phone tomorrow.