novella / amendment
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novella
A literary genre for a short to medium-length prose narrative that usually focuses on a single extraordinary event.
Im Deutschunterricht haben wir Kleists Novelle „Michael Kohlhaas“ analysiert.
In German class, we analyzed Kleist's novella 'Michael Kohlhaas'.
Careful: 'Die Novelle' (the novella) is not the same as the English word 'novel'. A German 'Novelle' is a short narrative. An English 'novel' is 'der Roman' in German.
„Die Verwandlung“ von Kafka ist eine berühmte Novelle.
'The Metamorphosis' by Kafka is a famous novella.
You can easily recognize the meaning of 'Novelle' from the context. In connection with literature, authors, or school lessons, it refers to the narrative. In the context of laws, politics, or parliament, it refers to the legal amendment.
Wir lesen gerade eine Novelle von Theodor Storm.
We are currently reading a novella by Theodor Storm.
In a literary context, a novella is typically 'gelesen' (read), 'geschrieben' (written), 'analysiert' (analyzed), or 'interpretiert' (interpreted).
Für die Schule mussten wir eine Novelle interpretieren.
For school, we had to interpret a novella.
The meaning 'Gesetzesänderung' (legal amendment) belongs to the technical language of lawyers and politicians. In normal everyday life, this word is hardly ever used for that.
Die Experten diskutieren über die Details der geplanten Novelle.
The experts are discussing the details of the planned amendment.
story / history
'die Geschichte' and 'die Novelle' can both mean a narrated plot in written form. 'die Geschichte' is the more general word. It can be short or long, spoken or written, true or invented. 'die Novelle' is a specific literary form. It is usually short to medium-length and focuses on a special event. Learners may confuse the words because a novella is also a type of story. If you are talking generally about a narrative, 'Geschichte' fits; if you mean the literary genre, 'Novelle' is more precise.
In der Pause lesen wir eine Novelle von einem bekannten Autor.
During the break, we read a novella by a well-known author.
Die Gruppe hört einer alten Frau zu, die eine spannende Geschichte erzählt.
The group listens to an old woman telling an exciting story.