guardian / goalkeeper
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guardian
A person who guards, protects, or supervises something or someone. This can refer literally to animals or a place, or figuratively to values, laws, or traditions.
Als Archivar war er der Hüter wertvoller historischer Dokumente.
As an archivist, he was the guardian of valuable historical documents.
'Der Hüter' (the guardian) comes directly from the verb 'hüten' (to guard / to look after), which means 'bewachen' (to guard) or 'aufpassen auf' (to watch over). A 'Hüter' is therefore literally a person who guards something.
Ein Hirte hütet seine Schafe.
A shepherd tends his sheep.
'Hüter' (guardian) is very often used in a figurative, elevated sense. People then speak of the 'Hüter des Gesetzes' (guardian of the law), 'Hüter der Verfassung' (guardian of the constitution), or 'Hüter der Tradition' (guardian of tradition).
Das Verfassungsgericht gilt als Hüter des Grundgesetzes.
The Constitutional Court is considered the guardian of the Basic Law.
The term 'Hüter' (goalkeeper) for a goalkeeper is colloquial. It is often used in sports reporting and by fans.
Der Hüter der Heimmannschaft zeigte eine starke Leistung.
The home team's goalkeeper gave a strong performance.
goalkeeper
'Torwart' and 'Hüter' can refer to the same person in sports: the player who defends the goal. 'Torwart' is the normal and clear term for this, especially in soccer or handball. 'Hüter' can also colloquially mean goalkeeper, often in the form 'Torhüter'. But on its own, 'Hüter' also has a more general meaning: a person who guards or protects something. This is why learners may confuse the words. In sports, 'Torwart' is usually the most natural choice; 'Hüter' fits better in sports reporting or when you deliberately want to sound a bit shorter or more figurative.
Beim Training lobte der Trainer den Hüter für seine schnellen Reaktionen.
During training, the coach praised the goalkeeper for his quick reactions.
Der Torwart hielt den Elfmeter in der letzten Minute.
The goalkeeper saved the penalty in the last minute.