01
die Rede
speech
An oral presentation or address given in front of a group of people.
example
Der Präsident hielt eine wichtige Rede an die Nation.
The president gave an important speech to the nation.
die Rede
speech / talk
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Meanings
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Usage tips
Word family
'Die Rede' (speech/talk) is the noun related to the verb 'reden' (to talk/speak). This connection helps you understand the basic meaning.
EXAMPLE
Wir müssen morgen über dieses Problem reden.
We need to talk about this problem tomorrow.
Typical collocation
To express that someone gives an address, German says 'eine Rede halten' (to give a speech). The literal translation with 'geben' is not correct here.
EXAMPLE
Die Bürgermeisterin wird morgen eine Rede halten.
The mayor will give a speech tomorrow.
Sentence structure of the expression
The expression 'es kann keine Rede davon sein' (there can be no talk of it) is a fixed formula used to strongly negate something. It is often combined with a 'dass' clause or an infinitive construction with 'zu'.
EXAMPLE
Es kann keine Rede davon sein, dass wir jetzt aufgeben.
There can be no talk of us giving up now.
Accusative construction
In the expression 'jemanden zur Rede stellen' (to confront someone), the person being confronted is always in the accusative.
EXAMPLE
Der Lehrer stellte den Schüler wegen des Lärms zur Rede.
The teacher confronted the student about the noise.
Dative construction
In the expression 'jemandem in die Rede fallen' (to interrupt someone), the person being interrupted is always in the dative.
EXAMPLE
Bitte fall mir nicht ständig in die Rede, lass mich aussprechen!
Please don't keep interrupting me; let me finish!
Compare with
Rede vs Thema
topic / theme
'das Thema' and 'die Rede' are both connected with speaking, but they do not mean the same thing. 'das Thema' is the content that is spoken or written about. 'die Rede' is usually a speech given in front of several people. In the phrase 'von etwas ist die Rede' (there is talk of something), however, 'Rede' means that something is being talked about. This is why learners may confuse the words. For the content, you usually say 'Thema'; for a speech that is given, you say 'Rede'.
Rede
In der Besprechung war von neuen Regeln die Rede.
In the meeting, there was talk of new rules.
Thema
Zu Hause hat meine Schwester ein wichtiges Thema angesprochen.
At home, my sister brought up an important topic.
In real life
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