publik
public
Known to the public; not secret.
EXAMPLE
Es wurde nie publik, wie viel er für das Unternehmen bezahlt hat.
It never became public how much he paid for the company.
publik
public
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Meanings
publik machen
to make public
To deliberately make something known to the public; to publish or reveal something.
EXAMPLE
Die Regierung wird die neuen Regelungen nächste Woche publik machen.
The government will make the new regulations public next week.
Usage tips
Sentence structure: almost only predicative
The adjective 'publik' (public) is used almost exclusively predicatively, that is, after a verb like 'sein' (to be) or 'werden' (to become). Using it directly before a noun (e.g., 'eine publike Information') is very uncommon and sounds unnatural.
EXAMPLE
Die geheime Absprache wurde schnell publik.
The secret agreement quickly became public.
Word family
'Publik' (public) is closely related to the noun 'das Publikum' (the audience/public). Both words refer to the public. Something that is 'publik' (public) is known to the 'Publikum' (public).
EXAMPLE
Die Sängerin wollte die Neuigkeit nicht vor ihrem Publikum verbergen.
The singer did not want to hide the news from her audience.
Fixed expressions
'Publik' (public) most often appears in the fixed expressions 'publik werden' (to become public) and 'publik machen' (to make public). These two constructions are central to the use of the word.
EXAMPLE
Es dauerte nicht lange, bis die Gerüchte publik wurden.
It did not take long for the rumors to become public.
Compare with
publik vs bekannt
known
Bekannt and publik can both say that a piece of news is no longer secret. Bekannt can also mean that only certain people know about it; publik emphasizes that the information has spread among or is accessible to the public. Use “bekannt” when knowledge is limited and “publik” when it is publicly known.
publik
Die Nachricht ist inzwischen publik und nicht mehr geheim.
The news is now public and no longer secret.
bekannt
Die Nachricht ist im kleinen Kreis bekannt, aber noch nicht öffentlich.
The news is known within a small circle, but it is not public yet.
In real life
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