chorus
der Refrain, die Refrains
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chorus
The part of a song or poem that is repeated after each verse; the refrain. It is often the best-known and catchiest part of a piece of music.
Alle im Stadion sangen den Refrain des berühmten Songs mit.
Everyone in the stadium sang along to the chorus of the famous song.
| gender | masculine der |
|---|---|
| plural | die Refrains |
| genitive | des Refrains |
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | der Refrain | die Refrains |
| accusative | den Refrain | die Refrains |
| dative | dem Refrain | den Refrains |
| genitive | des Refrains | der Refrains |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
'Der Refrain' (the chorus) is only a noun and means 'chorus' (the repeated part of a song). It is not the English verb 'to refrain', which in German means 'sich zurückhalten' (to hold back) or 'unterlassen' (to refrain from doing something).
Der Refrain dieses Liedes ist sehr eingängig.
The chorus of this song is very catchy.
Bitte halten Sie sich während der Vorstellung mit dem Fotografieren zurück.
Please refrain from taking photos during the performance.
In connection with music, 'der Refrain' (the chorus) is often used with verbs like 'singen' (to sing), 'mitsingen' (to sing along), 'summen' (to hum), or 'kennen' (to know).
Das Publikum sang den Refrain laut mit.
The audience sang along loudly to the chorus.
Ich kann mich nur noch an den Refrain des Liedes erinnern.
I can only remember the chorus of the song now.
A chorus is often described with adjectives like 'eingängig' (catchy), 'bekannt' (well-known), 'einfach' (simple), or 'melodisch' (melodic) to characterize its effect.
Der Song hat einen sehr eingängigen Refrain, der im Kopf bleibt.
The song has a very catchy chorus that stays in your head.
stanza / verse
A Strophe is usually a section of a song or poem consisting of several lines. The Refrain is the section that returns after each Strophe and is often especially catchy. Use Strophe for the changing sections of text and Refrain for the repeated part.
Den Refrain sang das Publikum nach jeder Strophe mit.
The audience sang along with the chorus after every verse.
Die zweite Strophe erzählt eine andere Geschichte als die erste.
The second verse tells a different story from the first.
