main topic
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main topic
The central subject, the most important theme, or the guiding idea of a discussion, book, film, or work of art.
Das Hauptthema der Konferenz war der Klimawandel und seine Folgen.
The main topic of the conference was climate change and its consequences.
The word is composed of 'Haupt-' and 'Thema'. The prefix 'Haupt-' always means 'most important', 'central', or 'first' and helps you understand many other German words.
Der Hauptbahnhof ist der wichtigste Bahnhof einer Stadt.
The main train station is the most important train station in a city.
To say what something is the main topic of, you use the preposition 'von' followed by the dative, or the genitive. The construction with 'von' is more common in spoken language.
Das Hauptthema von dem Roman ist die Freundschaft.
The main topic of the novel is friendship.
Books, films, discussions, talks, or works of art typically have a 'Hauptthema' (main topic). Common verbs in this context are 'sein' (to be), 'behandeln' (to deal with), or 'darstellen' (to represent/present).
Der Vortrag behandelt als Hauptthema die Digitalisierung in der Arbeitswelt.
The talk deals with digitalization in the workplace as its main topic.
focus / center of gravity
The main topic is the central subject of a book, film, or conversation. The Schwerpunkt (focus) refers to the part of this subject that receives particularly much space or weight. They can refer to the same thing when the central subject is also the area discussed most extensively.
Das Hauptthema des Buches ist der Klimawandel.
The main topic of the book is climate change.
Der Schwerpunkt des Buches liegt auf den Folgen des Klimawandels für Städte.
The focus of the book is on the consequences of climate change for cities.
