petition
Loading your saved state.
petition
A formal written request or demand addressed to an authority, a parliament, or another public body, often signed by many people to give weight to a cause.
Sie starteten eine Petition zum Schutz des alten Baumbestandes in der Stadt.
They started a petition to protect the old trees in the city.
Words that end in '-tion' are almost always feminine (die) in German and often come from Latin. Recognizing this ending can help you determine the article of words like 'Aktion' (action), 'Information' (information), or 'Station' (station) correctly.
Die Organisatoren hoffen auf viele Unterschriften für ihre Petition.
The organizers are hoping for many signatures for their petition.
Certain verbs are often used with 'Petition' (petition). You can 'starten' (start) or 'initiieren' (initiate) a petition, 'unterschreiben' (sign) or 'unterzeichnen' (sign) it, and 'einreichen' (submit) it to an authority.
Hast du die Petition für den Erhalt des Parks schon unterschrieben?
Have you already signed the petition to preserve the park?
To express the purpose of a petition, you use 'für' (for) or 'gegen' (against) followed by the accusative. The authority to which the petition is addressed is named with the preposition 'an' (to) and the accusative.
Wir haben eine Petition gegen die Schließung der Bibliothek gestartet.
We started a petition against the closure of the library.
application / proposal
'der Antrag' and 'die Petition' are both formal written requests to an official body. 'Antrag' usually fits when an individual person wants to receive something or have something approved, for example money, permission, or a document. A 'Petition' is often addressed to an authority or a parliament and is meant to support a broader cause. It is often signed by many people. Learners may confuse the words because both sound official. As a simple guideline: for personal approvals, you are more likely to say 'Antrag'; for a public cause supported by many people, 'Petition'.
Viele Nachbarn unterschreiben eine Petition gegen den starken Verkehr in ihrer Straße.
Many neighbors are signing a petition against the heavy traffic on their street.
Für die neue Wohnung muss Mehmet noch einen Antrag beim Amt stellen.
Mehmet still has to submit an application to the office for the new apartment.