inner life / inner workings
Loading your saved state.
inner life
The entirety of a person's thoughts, feelings, and psychological processes; the psyche.
Der Psychologe versuchte, das komplexe Innenleben seines Patienten zu verstehen.
The psychologist tried to understand the complex inner life of his patient.
'Innenleben' (inner life / inner workings) is a compound noun made up of the adverb 'innen' (inside) and the noun 'das Leben' (life). So it literally means 'the life inside' and is used both for people and for devices.
Das Buch gibt einen tiefen Einblick in das Innenleben der Hauptfigur.
The book gives a deep insight into the inner life of the main character.
You can easily distinguish the two meanings: If people speak of the 'Innenleben' (inner life) of a person, they mean their thoughts and feelings. If people speak of the 'Innenleben' (inner workings) of a machine or organization, they mean its internal functioning.
Er spricht nur selten über sein Innenleben.
He rarely talks about his inner life.
In the psychological sense, 'Innenleben' (inner life) is often described with adjectives such as 'reich' (rich), 'komplex' (complex), or 'geheim' (secret). Common verbs are 'verstehen' (to understand), 'offenbaren' (to reveal), or 'Einblick geben in' (to give insight into).
Sie hat ein sehr reiches Innenleben und liest viel.
She has a very rich inner life and reads a lot.
structure / assembly
'der Aufbau' and 'das Innenleben' can both describe how something is organized internally. 'der Aufbau' is more general: you can use it to describe the structure of a text, a device, a company, or a plan. 'das Innenleben' more specifically means what happens inside a device, machine, or even an organization, and how the parts work. Learners may confuse the words because both point to structure. 'Aufbau' fits when you mean the order or organization. 'Innenleben' fits more when you are looking inside something or want to explain its inner workings.
Das Innenleben der alten Uhr ist komplizierter, als es von außen aussieht.
The inner workings of the old clock are more complicated than they look from the outside.
Im Kurs erklärt die Lehrerin den Aufbau eines Bewerbungsschreibens.
In the course, the teacher explains the structure of a job application letter.