portrait
Loading your saved state.
portrait
An artistic representation of a person, for example a painting, photograph, or drawing, in which the face is the focus.
Die Künstlerin malte ein beeindruckendes Portrait des alten Mannes.
The artist painted an impressive portrait of the old man.
Alongside the spelling 'Portrait', the form 'Porträt' is more common in German today and is recommended by Duden. Both variants are understood, but in modern texts you will more often see the version with 'ä'.
Das Museum stellt verschiedene Porträts aus dem 19. Jahrhundert aus.
The museum is exhibiting various portraits from the 19th century.
When referring to an artistic representation, German usually uses the preposition 'von' with the dative to name the person depicted.
Ich habe ein Portrait von meiner Großmutter malen lassen.
I had a portrait of my grandmother painted.
In an artistic context, 'Portrait' is often combined with verbs such as 'malen' (to paint), 'zeichnen' (to draw), 'fotografieren' (to photograph), or 'anfertigen' (to produce/make).
Der Fotograf hat ein sehr natürliches Portrait von dem Kind angefertigt.
The photographer made a very natural portrait of the child.
In the meaning of a description in the media, the preposition 'über' with the accusative is often used. Signal words here are 'Film' (film), 'Artikel' (article), or 'Dokumentation' (documentary).
Der Artikel ist ein kritisches Portrait über den einflussreichen Politiker.
The article is a critical portrait of the influential politician.
picture / image
'das Bild' and 'das Portrait' can both be a representation that you look at. 'Bild' is very general and can show almost anything. 'Portrait' is more specific: it shows a person, especially the face, for example as a photo, drawing, or painting. The spelling 'Porträt' is more common in German, but 'Portrait' also occurs. The words can be confused when a picture shows a person. If it is just any kind of image or photo, you are more likely to say 'Bild'; if the person is being deliberately represented, 'Portrait' fits better.
Morgen zeichnet die Klasse ein Portrait der Lehrerin.
Tomorrow the class is drawing a portrait of the teacher.
Beim Frühstück hat er ein Bild von seiner Familie auf dem Handy gezeigt.
At breakfast, he showed a picture of his family on his phone.