fairy tale
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fairy tale
A traditional, often fantastical story with magical beings and miracles, usually passed down orally. Typical examples are the stories of the Brothers Grimm.
Meine Oma hat mir früher jeden Abend ein Märchen vorgelesen.
My grandma used to read me a fairy tale every evening.
The word 'Märchen' (fairy tale) is a diminutive form. It comes from the old word 'die Mär', which means 'news' or 'story'. So a 'Märchen' is literally a 'little story'.
Die alte Mär von den tapferen Rittern wird heute kaum noch erzählt.
The old tale of the brave knights is hardly told anymore today.
In the context of traditional stories, 'Märchen' (fairy tale) is often used with verbs like 'vorlesen' (to read aloud), 'erzählen' (to tell), or 'sammeln' (to collect). A very well-known phrase is 'die Märchen der Brüder Grimm' (the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm).
Der Vater erzählt seinen Kindern jeden Abend ein Märchen.
The father tells his children a fairy tale every evening.
You can often recognize the meaning 'lie' from a negative or skeptical tone. The fixed expression 'Erzähl mir keine Märchen!' always means 'Stop lying to me!'.
Er behauptet, er hätte alles allein geschafft, aber das ist doch ein Märchen.
He claims he managed everything on his own, but that's clearly a tall tale.
story / history
'die Geschichte' and 'das Märchen' can both be a story. 'Geschichte' is the general term: it can be true or invented and can have many forms. 'Märchen' is more specific: it is often traditional and fantastical, and includes things like miracles, princesses, or magical beings. In addition, 'Märchen' can disparagingly mean an untrue story or excuse. Learners may confuse the words because every Märchen is a Geschichte, but not every Geschichte is a Märchen. For a normal story, use 'Geschichte'; when magic, tradition, or a lie is involved, 'Märchen' fits.
Die Kinder hören ein Märchen von einem König und einem sprechenden Tier.
The children listen to a fairy tale about a king and a talking animal.
Beim Frühstück erzählt er seinen Eltern eine lustige Geschichte aus der Schule.
At breakfast, he tells his parents a funny story from school.