01
geschieden
divorced
Describing the marital status of a person whose marriage has been legally dissolved.
example
Meine Tante ist seit fünf Jahren geschieden und lebt jetzt allein.
My aunt has been divorced for five years and now lives alone.
geschieden
divorced / separate
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Meanings
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Usage tips
Participle as adjective
'Geschieden' (divorced/separated) is the past participle of the verb 'scheiden' (to separate), which means 'to separate.' It is used like a normal adjective to describe a state that has resulted from a separation.
EXAMPLE
Nach einer langen Trennungsphase sind sie nun offiziell geschieden.
After a long period of separation, they are now officially divorced.
Context clue
When 'geschieden' (divorced/separated) refers to people, it almost always means that their marriage has ended. When it refers to abstract things or ideas, it means 'separate' and is used in a very formal or philosophical context.
EXAMPLE
Meine Eltern sind geschieden, verstehen sich aber gut.
My parents are divorced, but they get along well.
Sentence structure and usage
To express marital status, you use the form '[person] ist geschieden' ([person] is divorced). If you want to say from whom, use the preposition 'von' (from): 'Sie ist von ihrem Mann geschieden' (She is divorced from her husband).
EXAMPLE
Er ist seit letztem Jahr von seiner Frau geschieden.
He has been divorced from his wife since last year.
Word family
Several related words belong to the topic of the end of a marriage: the verb is 'sich scheiden lassen' (to get divorced), the noun is 'die Scheidung' (the divorce), and the state is 'geschieden sein' (to be divorced).
EXAMPLE
Sie haben sich nach zehn Jahren Ehe scheiden lassen.
They got divorced after ten years of marriage.
Compare with
geschieden vs verschieden
different / various
'verschieden' and 'geschieden' look similar and sound similar, but they usually mean something completely different. 'verschieden' is used when things are not the same or when you are talking about several different things. 'geschieden' mainly describes a person whose marriage has legally ended. In very formal language, 'geschieden' can also mean 'separated' or 'distinguished', but in everyday life people usually think of marital status. So the typical confusion comes from the form of the words, not from their normal meaning.
geschieden
Mein Nachbar ist seit zwei Jahren geschieden.
My neighbor has been divorced for two years.
verschieden
Im Kurs haben die Teilnehmer verschiedene Gründe, Deutsch zu lernen.
In the course, the participants have various reasons for learning German.
In real life
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