documentation / documentary
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documentary
A film, television program, or radio program that reports on a specific topic, event, or person based on facts.
Gestern Abend lief eine interessante Dokumentation über das Leben der Tiefseefische.
Last night there was an interesting documentary about the life of deep-sea fish.
The word 'Dokumentation' belongs to the verb 'dokumentieren' (to document). The ending '-tion' is typical for nouns that describe a process or its result and are derived from a verb.
Es ist wichtig, alle Arbeitsschritte genau zu dokumentieren.
It is important to document all work steps precisely.
Whether a film or documents are meant can be recognized from the context. In connection with television or media, it refers to a film. In an office or project context, it refers to the documents.
Ich habe gestern eine spannende Dokumentation im Fernsehen gesehen.
I watched an exciting documentary on television yesterday.
When a program is meant, 'Dokumentation' is often used with the preposition 'über' (+ accusative) to name the topic. Typical verbs are 'sehen' (to see/watch), 'schauen' (to watch), or 'laufen' (to be on).
Im Ersten läuft gerade eine Dokumentation über den Klimawandel.
There is currently a documentary about climate change on the first public channel.
The meanings that refer to the collection of information or the documents themselves are typical in everyday professional life, administration, and technical fields.
Ohne eine saubere Dokumentation können wir das Projekt nicht abschließen.
Without clean documentation, we cannot complete the project.
report
'der Bericht' and 'die Dokumentation' are both connected with factual information. A 'Bericht' presents facts, events, or observations, often in a text or orally. A 'Dokumentation', on the other hand, can be a film or broadcast about a topic. It can also mean the collection and organization of documents, or the collection itself. The words can be confused when information about a project or event is involved. If you mean a single text, 'Bericht' usually fits. If you mean many documents, records, or a factual film, 'Dokumentation' is more precise.
Für das Projekt sammelt das Team alle Rechnungen in einer Dokumentation.
For the project, the team collects all invoices in the documentation.
Nach dem Unfall schrieb die Polizei einen kurzen Bericht.
After the accident, the police wrote a short report.