langjährig
long-standing
Describes a person or a relationship that has existed for many years or has performed a particular function for many years.
EXAMPLE
Er ist ein langjähriger Freund meiner Familie.
He is a long-standing friend of my family.
langjährig
long-standing
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Meanings
langjährig
many years of
Describes a process, experience, or development that extends over many years.
EXAMPLE
Sie verfügt über langjährige Erfahrung in der Projektleitung.
She has many years of experience in project management.
Usage tips
Word composition
The word is transparently built: it consists of 'lang' (long), 'Jahr' (year), and the adjective ending '-ig'. So it literally means 'lasting many years' or 'existing over many years'.
EXAMPLE
Unsere langjährige Zusammenarbeit war immer sehr erfolgreich.
Our long-standing cooperation was always very successful.
Use in a sentence
'Langjährig' (long-standing) is used almost exclusively attributively, meaning it stands directly before a noun. Predicative use, e.g. 'Die Erfahrung ist langjährig.' (The experience is long-standing), is rare and often sounds unnatural.
EXAMPLE
Er ist ein Mitarbeiter mit langjähriger Berufserfahrung.
He is an employee with many years of professional experience.
Typical collocations
In relation to people and relationships, 'langjährig' (long-standing) is often combined with nouns such as 'Freund' (friend), 'Mitarbeiter' (employee), 'Kollege' (colleague), 'Partner' (partner), 'Mitgliedschaft' (membership), or 'Freundschaft' (friendship).
EXAMPLE
Sie ist eine langjährige Mitarbeiterin in unserer Firma.
She is a long-standing employee at our company.
Typical collocations
When referring to processes or developments, 'langjährig' (long-standing / many years of) often comes before abstract nouns such as 'Erfahrung' (experience), 'Tradition' (tradition), 'Praxis' (practice), or 'Prozess' (process).
EXAMPLE
Das Unternehmen blickt auf eine langjährige Tradition zurück.
The company looks back on a long-standing tradition.
Compare with
langjährig vs langfristig
long-term
Langfristig usually looks ahead: something is planned for a long period in the future. Langjährig looks back on a period that has already lasted and describes a person or relationship that has existed for many years. The key question is therefore whether the long period is planned or has already passed.
langjährig
Wir feiern unsere langjährige Zusammenarbeit mit diesem Betrieb.
We are celebrating our long-standing partnership with this company.
langfristig
Wir planen eine langfristige Zusammenarbeit mit diesem Betrieb.
We are planning a long-term partnership with this company.
In real life
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