second half
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second half
The second half of a sports season, especially in a league in which each team plays every other team a second time.
In der Rückrunde hat der Verein fast alle Spiele gewonnen.
In the second half of the season, the club won almost all its games.
The word is made up of 'Rück-' (from 'zurück' (back)) and 'Runde' (round). So it literally describes the 'returning round' or second round of a competition.
Die Mannschaft hofft, in der Rückrunde mehr Punkte zu sammeln.
The team hopes to collect more points in the second half of the season.
'Rückrunde' (second half of the season) forms a pair with 'die Hinrunde' (the first half of the season). The prefix pair 'Hin-' (movement away) and 'Rück-' (movement back) is very productive in German, e.g. in 'Hinflug' (outbound flight) and 'Rückflug' (return flight).
Nach der Hinrunde stand das Team auf dem dritten Platz.
After the first half of the season, the team was in third place.
This meaning is used almost exclusively in a sports context, especially in league competitions such as football, handball, or basketball.
Der Trainer hat für die Rückrunde eine neue Taktik angekündigt.
The coach has announced a new tactic for the second half of the season.
Common formulations are 'eine starke/schwache Rückrunde spielen' (to play a strong/weak second half of the season), 'in der Rückrunde ungeschlagen bleiben' (to remain unbeaten in the second half of the season), or 'die Rückrunde beginnt/startet' (the second half of the season begins/starts).
Letztes Jahr hat die Mannschaft eine sehr schwache Rückrunde gespielt.
Last year the team played a very weak second half of the season.
second leg
'Rückspiel' and 'Rückrunde' both belong to sports and refer to a second part. But they do not mean the same thing. A 'Rückspiel' is a single second match between two teams that comes after the first leg. A 'Rückrunde' is the whole second half of a season or league, in which many matches take place. The words are easy to confuse because both begin with 'Rück-' and refer to something second. Remember: a 'Rückspiel' is one match; a 'Rückrunde' is a longer period with several matches.
In der Rückrunde hat der Verein deutlich besser gespielt als im Herbst.
In the second half of the season, the club played much better than in the autumn.
Am Dienstag entscheidet das Rückspiel, welche Mannschaft ins Finale kommt.
On Tuesday, the second leg will decide which team reaches the final.