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primär
primary
Coming first; main, priority, or most important.
example
Unser primäres Ziel ist es, das Projekt rechtzeitig abzuschließen.
Our primary goal is to complete the project on time.
primär
primary
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Meanings
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Usage tips
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'Primär' (primary) is a word used in formal written language and technical language. It is often used in academic, business, or technical contexts.
EXAMPLE
Die Studie befasst sich primär mit den wirtschaftlichen Folgen.
The study deals primarily with the economic consequences.
Use as an adverb
'Primär' (primarily) is very often used like an adverb and then means 'hauptsächlich' (mainly) or 'in erster Linie' (first and foremost). It often appears at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence.
EXAMPLE
Primär geht es uns um die Sicherheit der Daten.
Primarily, we are concerned with the security of the data.
Typical collocations
In the meaning of 'wichtigste/r/s' (most important), 'primär' (primary) is often combined with nouns such as 'Ziel' (goal), 'Aufgabe' (task), 'Fokus' (focus), or 'Interesse' (interest).
EXAMPLE
Unsere primäre Aufgabe ist die Qualitätssicherung.
Our primary task is quality assurance.
Context clue
The meaning 'ursprünglich' (original) is often found in scientific contexts. A typical example is the distinction between 'primären Quellen' (primary sources, original texts) and 'sekundären Quellen' (secondary sources, analyses of them).
EXAMPLE
Historiker arbeiten bevorzugt mit primären Quellen aus der jeweiligen Epoche.
Historians prefer to work with primary sources from the respective era.
Compare with
primär vs direkt
direct
'direkt' and 'primär' can both express that something has no distance or comes first. The difference is in the focus. 'direkt' usually means: without an intermediate step, without a detour, or immediately connected. 'primär' more often means: mainly, as a priority, or original. When talking about an effect without an intermediate stage, 'direkt' fits better. When you want to say what is most important or comes first, 'primär' sounds more natural.
primär
Bei der Arbeit ist unser primäres Ziel, das Projekt pünktlich abzuschließen.
At work, our primary goal is to finish the project on time.
direkt
Der Lärm hatte einen direkten Einfluss auf meine Konzentration.
The noise had a direct effect on my concentration.
In real life
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