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column
An article that appears regularly in a newspaper or magazine, in which an author expresses their personal opinion on a particular topic.
Ich lese jeden Samstag ihre Kolumne über politische Ereignisse.
I read her column about political events every Saturday.
You can recognize the meaning from the verb: if someone 'schreibt' (writes) or 'liest' (reads) a 'Kolumne' (column), it means the opinion article. If text is 'in Kolumnen gesetzt' (set in columns) or 'angeordnet' (arranged), it means the text column.
Er schreibt eine wöchentliche Kolumne für eine große Tageszeitung.
He writes a weekly column for a major daily newspaper.
When referring to the newspaper article, typical combinations are: to 'schreiben' (write), 'lesen' (read), or 'veröffentlichen' (publish) a 'Kolumne' (column). It is often described more precisely with an adjective such as 'politisch' (political) or 'persönlich' (personal).
Ihre persönliche Kolumne erscheint jeden Freitag.
Her personal column appears every Friday.
The meaning 'Textspalte' (text column) belongs to the technical language of printing, typography, and graphic design. In everyday life, this usage is less common.
Bitte formatiere den Text in zwei gleich breiten Kolumnen.
Please format the text in two columns of equal width.
contribution / post
'der Beitrag' and 'die Kolumne' can both be texts in a newspaper, magazine, or on a website. 'der Beitrag' is the more general word: it can be a report, an article, or another type of media text. 'die Kolumne' is more specific. It usually appears regularly and often shows the personal opinion of a particular author. The words can be confused because a column is also a contribution. But when it is about a regular series with a personal opinion, 'Kolumne' is more precise.
Wegen ihrer klaren Meinung wird die Kolumne der Journalistin oft diskutiert.
Because of her clear opinion, the journalist's column is often discussed.
In der Zeitung steht heute ein Beitrag über den Schutz der Wälder.
There is a piece in the newspaper today about protecting forests.