jahrelang
for years
Continuing over a period of several years.
EXAMPLE
Sie haben jahrelang für dieses Haus gespart.
They saved for years for this house.
jahrelang
for years
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Meanings
Usage tips
Compound structure
The word is made up of 'Jahre' (years, plural of 'das Jahr') and 'lang' (long). So the meaning is literally 'the length of years'.
EXAMPLE
Die Renovierung des alten Hauses dauerte jahrelang.
The renovation of the old house took years.
Use as an adjective
'Jahrelang' (lasting for years) can also stand before a noun as an adjective. In that case, it has to be declined like any other adjective.
EXAMPLE
Nach einer jahrelangen Freundschaft haben sie geheiratet.
After a friendship that had lasted for years, they got married.
A useful pattern
The structure '[unit of time] + lang' is very productive in German for describing periods of time. Other examples include 'tagelang' (for days), 'wochenlang' (for weeks), 'monatelang' (for months), or 'stundenlang' (for hours).
EXAMPLE
Wegen des Streiks mussten wir stundenlang am Bahnhof warten.
Because of the strike, we had to wait at the train station for hours.
Compare with
jahrelang vs langjährig
long-standing
Jahrelang directly indicates how long an action lasts. Langjährig, on the other hand, describes a person, relationship, or position that has existed for many years. Someone can therefore work at a place jahrelang, but be a langjährige Mitarbeiterin there.
jahrelang
Nina arbeitete jahrelang in derselben Bibliothek.
Nina worked at the same library for years.
langjährig
Nina ist eine langjährige Mitarbeiterin dieser Bibliothek.
Nina is a long-standing employee of this library.
In real life
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