revenge
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revenge
An action by which someone is deliberately harmed in return for an injustice or insult suffered; retaliation.
Aus Angst vor der Rache seiner Feinde verließ er die Stadt.
Out of fear of his enemies' revenge, he left the city.
to take revenge (on)
The fixed expression used to actively carry out the act of retaliation.
Der Held des Films schwor, an den Mördern seiner Familie Rache zu nehmen.
The hero of the film swore to take revenge on his family's murderers.
To express the reason for the revenge, use 'aus Rache' (out of revenge) for the motive or 'Rache für' + accusative (revenge for) for the specific occasion. The target of the revenge is connected with 'an' + dative.
Er handelte aus blinder Rache.
He acted out of blind revenge.
Common verbs used in connection with 'Rache' (revenge) are 'Rache üben' (to exact revenge) and 'auf Rache sinnen' (to plot revenge).
Der verstoßene Prinz sann auf Rache an seinem Bruder.
The banished prince plotted revenge against his brother.
'Rache' (revenge) is often described with certain adjectives that specify its nature. Common combinations are 'süße Rache' (sweet revenge), 'grausame Rache' (cruel revenge), or 'persönliche Rache' (personal revenge).
Für ihn war es die süße Rache, am Ende doch noch zu gewinnen.
For him, it was sweet revenge to end up winning after all.
The expression 'Rache nehmen' (to take revenge) is the most active and common way to express the action. The person on whom one takes revenge is always in the dative, introduced by the preposition 'an'.
Sie schwor, an dem Dieb Rache zu nehmen.
She swore to take revenge on the thief.
bill / reckoning
Both words can refer to retaliation for a wrong suffered. Rache places more emphasis on the personal desire to deliberately harm someone, while Abrechnung highlights the figurative settling of an open score and often a demonstrative conclusion. Rache is suitable for a personal motive for revenge; Abrechnung can also describe the final counterblow.
Aus Rache zerkratzte er das Auto seines Nachbarn.
He scratched his neighbor’s car out of revenge.
Nach dem Verrat kündigte sie eine schonungslose Abrechnung mit ihrem früheren Geschäftspartner an.
After the betrayal, she announced a ruthless reckoning with her former business partner.
