01
der Jahrgang
year group
All people who were born in the same year.
example
Mein Großvater und sein bester Freund waren derselbe Jahrgang.
My grandfather and his best friend were from the same year group.
der Jahrgang
vintage / cohort
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Meanings
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Usage tips
Compound word
The word is made up of 'Jahr' (year) and 'Gang' (course/group). It describes a group or set that belongs to a particular year, like a 'course' of people or products from one year.
EXAMPLE
Der Jahrgang 2020 gilt als exzellent für diesen Winzer.
The 2020 vintage is considered excellent for this winemaker.
Use with a year
Very often, 'Jahrgang' is combined directly with a year to define the group precisely. The year then usually comes directly after the word.
EXAMPLE
Mein Vater ist Jahrgang 1965.
My father was born in 1965.
Context clues
You can always recognize the exact meaning of 'Jahrgang' from the context. Words like 'Wein' (wine), 'Flasche' (bottle), or 'Winzer' (winemaker) point to wine, while 'Schule' (school), 'Klasse' (class), or 'Abschluss' (graduation) refer to students.
EXAMPLE
Der ganze Jahrgang fährt auf Klassenfahrt.
The whole year group is going on a class trip.
Typical adjectives
When referring to people, 'Jahrgang' is often combined with adjectives like 'stark' (strong) or 'schwach' (weak) to describe the size or abilities of the group.
EXAMPLE
In diesem Sport gilt der Jahrgang 2005 als besonders stark.
In this sport, the 2005 year group is considered especially strong.
Typical collocations
In connection with wine, you often hear about a 'guter Jahrgang' (good vintage), 'schlechter Jahrgang' (bad vintage), or 'Spitzenjahrgang' (top vintage). These describe the quality of the wine from a particular harvest year.
EXAMPLE
2018 war in dieser Region ein Spitzenjahrgang für Weißwein.
2018 was a top vintage for white wine in this region.
Compare with
Jahrgang vs Jahr
year
'das Jahr' and 'der Jahrgang' are easy to confuse because both have to do with a specific year. 'Jahr' means the period of twelve months or a specific calendar year. 'Jahrgang', on the other hand, means a group or collection that belongs to the same year: people with the same birth year, students from the same starting year at school, wine from a particular year, or issues of a magazine from one year. Remember: 'das Jahr' is the time period; 'der Jahrgang' belongs to that time period.
Jahrgang
Herr Müller ist Jahrgang 1980.
Mr. Müller was born in 1980.
Jahr
Im Jahr 2024 hat Sarah ihre Ausbildung begonnen.
Sarah began her training in 2024.
In real life
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