geboten
required
Necessary, appropriate, or advisable in a particular situation.
EXAMPLE
Angesichts des schlechten Wetters ist besondere Vorsicht geboten.
In view of the bad weather, special caution is required.
geboten
required / offered
Checking...
Loading your saved state.
Meanings
geboten
offered
Used as an adjective to describe something that was offered or made available. It is the past participle of the verb 'bieten' (to offer).
EXAMPLE
Er ergriff die gebotene Gelegenheit, um seine Idee vorzustellen.
He seized the offered opportunity to present his idea.
Usage tips
Origin of the word
'Geboten' is the past participle of the verb 'bieten' (to offer) or of the less common verb 'gebieten' (to command, require). The different meanings are derived from these two origins.
EXAMPLE
Er hat mir seine Hilfe geboten.
He offered me his help.
Context clue: sentence structure
The meaning depends on the word's position in the sentence. If 'geboten' comes at the end of the sentence after 'ist' (is) or 'scheint' (seems), e.g., 'Vorsicht ist geboten' (caution is required), it means 'required.' If it comes before a noun, e.g., 'die gebotene Chance' (the offered opportunity), it means 'offered.'
EXAMPLE
In dieser Situation ist Geduld geboten. (erforderlich)
In this situation, patience is required. (required)
Fixed structure
The meaning 'required' or 'advisable' almost always appears in the fixed structure '[noun] ist geboten' ([noun] is required). The noun is in the nominative case.
EXAMPLE
Bei Glatteis ist höchste Vorsicht geboten.
In icy conditions, the utmost caution is required.
Typical collocations
In the meaning 'offered,' 'geboten' is often combined with nouns that describe an opportunity or advantage. Typical examples are 'die gebotene Chance' (the offered chance), 'die gebotene Gelegenheit' (the offered opportunity), or 'die gebotene Hilfe' (the offered help).
EXAMPLE
Er nahm die gebotene Hilfe dankend an.
He gratefully accepted the offered help.
Compare with
geboten vs notwendig
necessary
Notwendig and geboten can both justify an action in a particular situation. Notwendig means that the action is genuinely required, whereas geboten can also express that it is merely appropriate or advisable. Choose „notwendig“ when something is truly required and „geboten“ when the situation mainly suggests an appropriate response.
geboten
Nach dem Missverständnis war es geboten, ruhig miteinander zu sprechen.
After the misunderstanding, it was appropriate to talk to each other calmly.
notwendig
Wegen des starken Regens war es notwendig, das undichte Fenster zu reparieren.
Because of the heavy rain, it was necessary to repair the leaky window.
In real life
Loading video examples...