serious / seriously
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serious
Describes a person, situation, or intention that is serious and not in the mood for joking.
Sie führte ein ernsthaftes Gespräch mit ihrem Chef über ihre Zukunft.
She had a serious conversation with her boss about her future.
The word consists of the adjective 'ernst' (serious) and the suffix '-haft'. The suffix '-haft' forms adjectives and means 'of the nature of' or 'full of'. 'Ernsthaft' (serious/seriously) is therefore an intensification of 'ernst' (serious).
Er hat ein ernsthaftes Interesse an der Stelle gezeigt.
He showed a serious interest in the position.
'Ernsthaft' can be used as an adjective before a noun or as an adverb to describe a verb. As an adverb, it means 'in a serious way' or 'intensely'.
Das ist ein ernsthaftes Thema, über das wir sprechen müssen.
That is a serious topic that we need to talk about.
In this meaning, 'ernsthaft' is often combined with negative things to emphasize their severity. Typical collocations are 'eine ernsthafte Krankheit' (a serious illness), 'ernsthafte Zweifel' (serious doubts), or 'ernsthaft verletzt sein' (to be seriously injured).
Die Firma hat mit ernsthaften finanziellen Problemen zu kämpfen.
The company is struggling with serious financial problems.
As a single word or at the beginning of a question, 'Ernsthaft?' expresses strong astonishment or disbelief in colloquial speech. Here it works like a question particle and means something like 'Really?'.
Ernsthaft? Du hast den ganzen Kuchen allein gegessen?
Seriously? You ate the whole cake by yourself?
really
'wirklich' and 'ernsthaft' can both make a statement stronger or show that you can hardly believe something. 'wirklich' is very general and fits when something is actually the case or when you want to emphasize a statement. 'ernsthaft' sounds more like 'im Ernst' (seriously) and fits especially when you are asking whether someone does not mean something as a joke. Learners may confuse the words because both are possible in questions like 'Wirklich?' (Really?) or 'Ernsthaft?' (Seriously?). As a simple guide: 'wirklich' confirms reality, while 'ernsthaft' emphasizes a serious tone or strong surprise.
Willst du ernsthaft morgen um sechs Uhr einkaufen gehen?
Do you seriously want to go shopping tomorrow at six o'clock?
Im Bus hat der Fahrer wirklich auf mich gewartet.
On the bus, the driver really waited for me.