questioning
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questioning
Expressing a question, usually through a look, gesture, or tone of voice, without necessarily using words.
Sie sah mich mit fragendem Blick an, als ich den Raum betrat.
She looked at me with a questioning look when I entered the room.
'Fragend' is the present participle of the verb 'fragen' (to ask). It describes an action that is happening at the moment and is used like an adjective to express that someone is asking a question through their posture or facial expression.
Mit fragender Miene wartete er auf eine Antwort.
With a questioning expression, he waited for an answer.
This adjective is almost always used to describe nonverbal communication. Typical nouns are 'ein fragender Blick' (a questioning look), 'ein fragender Gesichtsausdruck' (a questioning facial expression), or 'eine fragende Geste' (a questioning gesture).
Er machte eine fragende Geste mit der Hand.
He made a questioning gesture with his hand.
'Fragend' usually stands directly before a noun (attributive use). Use after the noun with 'sein' (predicative use) is possible, but less common.
Das Kind schaute die Mutter mit großen, fragenden Augen an.
The child looked at her mother with big, questioning eyes.
curious
'neugierig' and 'fragend' can both show that someone wants to know something. But 'neugierig' describes an inner interest: you want to discover something new or are excited to find out about something. 'fragend' describes more the expression, for example a look, gesture, or tone of voice. The words can be confused because a curious person often looks questioning or asks questions. Still, not every questioning look is curious; it can also show uncertainty or not understanding. As a simple guide: 'neugierig' describes the attitude, while 'fragend' describes the expression.
In der Pause sahen wir die Lehrerin fragend an, weil wir die Aufgabe nicht verstanden.
During the break, we looked at the teacher questioningly because we did not understand the assignment.
Die Kinder sind neugierig auf den neuen Nachbarn.
The children are curious about the new neighbor.