obvious / nearby
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obvious
So clear or logical that it is easy to think of; obvious. It describes a conclusion, idea, or solution that almost suggests itself.
Es war die naheliegendste Lösung, einfach den Kundenservice anzurufen.
The most obvious solution was simply to call customer service.
'Naheliegend' (obvious / nearby) is the present participle of the separable verb 'naheliegen' (to be obvious / to be nearby) (nahe + liegen). The figurative meaning 'offensichtlich' (obvious) comes from the literal meaning 'something is located nearby in space' and is therefore easy to infer.
Die Idee lag nahe, also haben wir es einfach ausprobiert.
The idea was obvious, so we simply tried it out.
In the meaning 'offensichtlich' (obvious), 'naheliegend' (obvious) is very often used in the impersonal construction 'Es ist naheliegend, dass ...' (It is obvious that ...) or 'Es ist naheliegend, zu ...' (It is obvious to ...).
Es ist naheliegend, dass er nach der langen Reise müde ist.
It is obvious that he is tired after the long journey.
When something is 'naheliegend' (obvious), it is usually an abstract idea. Typical collocations are: eine naheliegende Lösung (an obvious solution), eine naheliegende Frage (an obvious question), ein naheliegender Gedanke (an obvious thought), or eine naheliegende Schlussfolgerung (an obvious conclusion).
Seine Vermutung war für alle im Raum naheliegend.
His assumption was obvious to everyone in the room.
The spatial meaning is much rarer than the figurative one. You can recognize it by the fact that the adjective refers to a concrete place or object, for example ein naheliegendes Dorf (a nearby village) or ein naheliegendes Geschäft (a nearby shop).
Wir trafen uns in einem naheliegenden Café am Bahnhof.
We met in a nearby café at the train station.
obvious / apparently
'offensichtlich' and 'naheliegend' can both mean that something is easy to recognize or understand. 'offensichtlich' more often says: you can clearly see or notice something, or it clearly appears to be true. 'naheliegend' is used especially for an explanation, idea, or solution that is easy to arrive at because it is logical. The words can be confused when describing a conclusion. 'Es ist offensichtlich' sounds stronger and more direct. 'Es ist naheliegend' sounds more like: that is the logical assumption or the simple next thought.
Weil der Bus ausfiel, war es naheliegend, ein Taxi zu nehmen.
Because the bus was canceled, it was obvious to take a taxi.
Nach dem Gespräch war offensichtlich, dass Tom mit der Entscheidung unzufrieden war.
After the conversation, it was obvious that Tom was unhappy with the decision.