mühselig
arduous
Involving a great deal of effort, exertion, and time, and therefore tiring or laborious.
EXAMPLE
Die mühselige Suche nach einer neuen Wohnung dauerte mehrere Monate.
The arduous search for a new apartment lasted several months.
mühselig
arduous
mühselig – mühseliger – am mühseligsten
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Meanings
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry mühselig, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
Comparison
| basic form | mühselig |
|---|---|
| comparative | mühseliger |
| superlative | am mühseligsten |
After der, die, das
| masc. | fem. | neut. | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | -e | -e | -e | -en |
| acc. | -en | -e | -e | -en |
| dat. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
| gen. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
Add the ending to mühselig.
After ein, eine
| masc. | fem. | neut. | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | -er | -e | -es | -en |
| acc. | -en | -e | -es | -en |
| dat. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
| gen. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
Add the ending to mühselig.
Without article
| masc. | fem. | neut. | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | -er | -e | -es | -e |
| acc. | -en | -e | -es | -e |
| dat. | -em | -er | -em | -en |
| gen. | -en | -er | -en | -er |
Add the ending to mühselig.
Usage tips
Typical collocations
'Mühselig' (arduous) is often used with processes that take a long time or require many individual steps. Typical collocations are 'mühselige Arbeit' (arduous work), 'mühselige Suche' (arduous search), 'mühseliger Weg' (arduous journey), and 'mühseliger Prozess' (arduous process).
EXAMPLE
Die mühselige Arbeit an den alten Akten nahm den ganzen Winter in Anspruch.
The arduous work on the old files took up the entire winter.
Evaluating a process
'Mühselig' (arduous) usually describes an activity, journey, or process and evaluates it as burdensome and slow. It therefore often appears before nouns that refer to a lengthy development or task.
EXAMPLE
Der mühselige Wiederaufbau des Hauses dauerte viele Jahre.
The arduous rebuilding of the house took many years.
Register and style
'Mühselig' (arduous) is a standard-language adjective and occurs particularly often in written, factual, or narrative texts. It conveys a clearly negative evaluation of the process being described.
EXAMPLE
Nach mühseligen Verhandlungen einigten sich beide Seiten endlich.
After arduous negotiations, both sides finally reached an agreement.
In real life
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