business / professional
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business / professional
Relating to work, one's profession, or business; not private.
Ich bin nächste Woche geschäftlich in Hamburg und kann dich leider nicht besuchen.
I'll be in Hamburg on business next week and unfortunately can't visit you.
The adjective is derived from the noun 'das Geschäft' (business). The ending '-lich' means 'in the manner of' or 'relating to,' so literally 'related to business.'
Bitte nutzen Sie für die Kommunikation mit Kunden Ihre geschäftliche E-Mail-Adresse.
Please use your business email address for communication with customers.
'Geschäftlich' is very often used as an adverb to describe the purpose or reason for an action. It answers the question 'Why?' or 'For what purpose?'
Sind Sie geschäftlich oder privat in der Stadt?
Are you in the city for business or privately?
Common combinations are 'geschäftlich unterwegs sein' (to be traveling on business), 'eine geschäftliche Reise machen' (to take a business trip), or 'ein geschäftliches Telefonat führen' (to have a business phone call). The focus is always on the professional context.
Mein Chef ist nächste Woche geschäftlich unterwegs.
My boss is traveling on business next week.
personal / in person
'persönlich' and 'geschäftlich' can both describe which area something belongs to. 'persönlich' refers to a person's private or individual sphere. 'geschäftlich' refers to the area of work, one's profession, or business. Here they are opposites: a message can be persönlich because it is private, or geschäftlich because it has to do with work. They can be confused because both often come up with conversations, appointments, or contacts. A simple guide is: if it is about the person as a private individual, 'persönlich' fits. If it is about work or business, 'geschäftlich' fits.
Am Montag sind wir geschäftlich in München.
On Monday we will be in Munich on business.
Nach dem Gespräch erzählt sie mir etwas Persönliches über ihre Familie.
After the conversation, she tells me something personal about her family.