missionary
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missionary
A person who travels to another region or culture in order to spread their religious beliefs, usually Christianity.
Als Missionar verbrachte er Jahrzehnte in Afrika und baute dort Schulen und Krankenhäuser.
As a missionary, he spent decades in Africa and built schools and hospitals there.
missionary
A person who tries with great zeal and conviction to win others over to a particular idea, teaching, or worldview.
In Sachen Umweltschutz ist er ein echter Missionar und versucht, alle seine Freunde zu überzeugen.
When it comes to environmental protection, he is a real missionary and tries to convince all his friends.
The word 'Missionar' (missionary) is derived from the noun 'die Mission' (mission). A mission is an assignment or task, often with an idealistic or religious goal. So a missionary is literally a person with a mission.
Seine Mission war es, den Menschen in der Region zu helfen.
His mission was to help the people in the region.
'Missionar' (missionary) is a masculine noun of the N-declension. This means that in all cases except the nominative singular, it takes the ending '-en'. A common mistake is to forget this ending in the accusative or dative.
Ich habe gestern einen Missionar getroffen.
I met a missionary yesterday.
You can often recognize the figurative meaning from the context. If it is not about religion, but about topics like politics, environmental protection, or a particular way of life, it means the person who wants to convince others of an idea. This is often reinforced by adjectives like 'echter' (real) or 'wahrer' (true).
In Sachen gesunder Ernährung ist sie eine wahre Missionarin.
When it comes to healthy eating, she is a true missionary.
preacher
Both words can refer to a religious person who conveys a message of faith to others. The Prediger mainly gives sermons and proclaims teachings, while the Missionar additionally acts with the aim of spreading this belief to others or winning them over to it. The context of winning people over makes Missionar more appropriate.
Der Missionar reiste in eine andere Region, um dort Menschen für seinen Glauben zu gewinnen.
The missionary traveled to another region to win people over to his faith.
Der Prediger verkündete im Gottesdienst die religiösen Lehren seiner Gemeinde.
The preacher proclaimed his congregation’s religious teachings during the service.
