to spare / save
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to spare someone something
To make sure that someone does not have to go through an unpleasant experience, effort, or situation.
Ich möchte dir die schrecklichen Details des Unfalls ersparen.
I want to spare you the terrible details of the accident.
to spare oneself something
To spare oneself unnecessary effort or an unpleasant situation by avoiding it.
Wenn du die Aufgabe sofort erledigst, kannst du dir späteren Stress ersparen.
If you do the task right away, you can spare yourself stress later.
to save up
To accumulate money by saving in order to have it available for a specific purpose.
Er hat sich über Jahre das Geld für die Weltreise erspart.
He saved up the money for the trip around the world over the years.
The verb is made up of the prefix 'er-' and 'sparen' (to save). Here, the prefix 'er-' signals that a certain result is achieved through saving—whether money that one has, or effort that one avoids.
Durch gute Planung konnte sie sich viel Arbeit ersparen.
Through good planning, she was able to spare herself a lot of work.
This verb always requires a person in the dative and a thing in the accusative. The structure is: someone (subject) erspart (spares) someone (dative) something (accusative).
Er ersparte seinen Eltern die schlechte Nachricht.
He spared his parents the bad news.
When you spare someone else something, it is usually something unpleasant. Typical combinations are: 'jemandem die Mühe ersparen' (to spare someone the trouble), 'die Details' (the details), 'den Anblick' (the sight), or 'eine Enttäuschung' (a disappointment).
Er hat die Reparatur selbst gemacht und mir damit viel Mühe erspart.
He did the repair himself and spared me a lot of trouble.
When the verb is used reflexively with 'sich' (oneself), the object helps distinguish the meaning. If 'etwas' (something) refers to money or a positive goal, it means 'ansparen' (to save up). If it refers to something negative like stress or annoyance, it means 'vermeiden' (to avoid).
Sie hat sich das Geld für ein neues Auto erspart.
She saved up the money for a new car.
to save
„Sich etwas sparen“ means consciously refraining from an unnecessary action or remark. „Sich etwas ersparen“ emphasizes not having to experience an effort or unpleasant situation. Use „sparen“ for choosing not to do something yourself and „ersparen“ for avoiding a burden.
Mit der Online-Anmeldung erspare ich mir den Weg zum Amt.
By registering online, I spare myself the trip to the government office.
Ich spare mir den Streit und verlasse ruhig den Raum.
I will spare myself the argument and calmly leave the room.
