youth
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youth
The stage of a person's life between childhood and adulthood, marked by physical, mental, and social development.
In seiner Jugendzeit hat er viel Sport getrieben und war in einem Verein aktiv.
In his youth, he did a lot of sports and was active in a club.
The word is a clear compound of 'die Jugend' (youth) and 'die Zeit' (time). So it literally means 'the time of youth.'
Die Jugendzeit ist eine Phase großer Veränderungen.
Youth is a phase of great change.
'Jugendzeit' is very often used with the preposition 'in' and a possessive pronoun to talk about one's own or someone else's youth.
In meiner Jugendzeit habe ich sehr viel gelesen.
In my youth, I read a great deal.
Common adjectives used to describe one's youth are 'schön' (beautiful), 'glücklich' (happy), 'unbeschwert' (carefree), or also 'schwierig' (difficult). A typical verb phrase is 'sich an die Jugendzeit erinnern' (to remember one's youth).
Sie hatte eine sehr glückliche Jugendzeit.
She had a very happy youth.
The word is often used in a reflective or nostalgic tone when looking back on life. It is typical in stories, biographies, or personal conversations.
Meine Großmutter erzählt oft Geschichten aus ihrer Jugendzeit.
My grandmother often tells stories from her youth.
youth
'die Jugend' and 'die Jugendzeit' can both mean the time between childhood and adulthood. However, 'die Jugend' is somewhat broader: it can mean the stage of life, but also young people as a group. 'die Jugendzeit' almost always means a person's own youth, that is, the years they remember later. That is why 'Jugendzeit' sounds especially natural when someone is talking about their own earlier life. The words can be confused because they are very similar when referring to the stage of life. But for the group of young people, you only say 'die Jugend', not 'die Jugendzeit'.
Meine Großmutter erzählt gern von ihrer Jugendzeit auf dem Land.
My grandmother likes to talk about her youth in the countryside.
Die Jugend in unserem Stadtteil wünscht sich einen neuen Treffpunkt.
The young people in our district would like a new place to meet.