native
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native
Indicates a person's place of birth or region of origin. It means that someone was born in a particular place.
Obwohl sie seit 20 Jahren in München lebt, ist sie eine gebürtige Berlinerin.
Although she has lived in Munich for 20 years, she is a native Berliner.
The adjective 'gebürtig' belongs to the word family of 'die Geburt' (birth) and 'geboren werden' (to be born). This helps you remember the meaning 'from one's place of birth'.
Er ist gebürtig aus einem kleinen Dorf in den Alpen.
He is originally from a small village in the Alps.
'Gebürtig' is often used directly before a noun referring to a person. Together with the place of origin, it then forms an adjective.
Meine Professorin ist eine gebürtige Österreicherin.
My professor is a native Austrian.
Another common construction is the combination with the preposition 'aus' (from). The person then appears at the beginning of the sentence, followed by 'ist gebürtig aus' (is originally from) and the place or country.
Mein Nachbar ist gebürtig aus Polen, lebt aber schon lange hier.
My neighbor is originally from Poland, but has lived here for a long time.
born
'geboren' and 'gebürtig' can both say where a person originally comes from. 'geboren' is used directly with a place or date of birth: someone was born in a city or on a day. 'gebürtig' mainly describes origin according to place of birth or region, often as a characteristic of a person. For example, you say 'ein gebürtiger Berliner' (a native Berliner). The words can be confused because both refer to birth. But for a date, only 'geboren' works, not 'gebürtig'.
Finn ist gebürtiger Hamburger, lebt aber seit Jahren in München.
Finn is a native of Hamburg, but he has lived in Munich for years.
Meine Schwester ist am 3. Mai in Köln geboren.
My sister was born in Cologne on May 3.