mud
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mud
A wet, mushy mass made of soil, sand, or clay and water. It often forms after rain or near bodies of water.
Nach dem starken Regen waren unsere Schuhe voller Schlamm.
After the heavy rain, our shoes were covered in mud.
Like 'Wasser' (water) or 'Sand' (sand), 'Schlamm' (mud) is usually an uncountable noun, or mass noun. It is often used without an article or with quantity words like 'viel' (a lot of) or 'etwas' (some).
Überall auf der Straße war Schlamm.
There was mud everywhere on the road.
In the meaning of 'feuchte Erde' (wet soil), 'Schlamm' (mud) is often combined with verbs of movement. Typical phrases are 'im Schlamm stecken bleiben' (to get stuck in the mud), 'durch den Schlamm waten' (to wade through the mud), or 'sich durch den Schlamm kämpfen' (to struggle through the mud).
Das Auto ist im tiefen Schlamm stecken geblieben.
The car got stuck in the deep mud.
You can recognize the medical or cosmetic meaning from words from the health and wellness field. Pay attention to terms like 'Packung' (pack), 'Bad' (bath), 'Kur' (treatment/cure), 'heilsam' (healing), or 'mineralreich' (rich in minerals).
Im Wellnesshotel werden auch Schlammbäder angeboten.
The wellness hotel also offers mud baths.
sand
'Sand' and 'Schlamm' can both consist of soil or small ground particles, but they feel very different. 'Sand' is usually dry or only slightly damp and consists of individual grains. 'Schlamm' is wet, soft, and mushy because soil, sand, or clay is mixed with water. It is easy to confuse the words after rain or near water, because sand can become wet then. If the material still remains grainy, you would usually say 'Sand'. If it sticks and is muddy, 'Schlamm' fits better.
Nach dem Regen steckt der Schuh tief im Schlamm.
After the rain, the shoe is stuck deep in the mud.
Die Kinder bauen eine Burg aus nassem Sand.
The children are building a castle out of wet sand.