souvenir
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souvenir
An object that you bring back or buy from a trip in order to remember the place you visited. It serves as a keepsake.
Ich habe mir in Paris einen kleinen Eiffelturm als Souvenir gekauft.
I bought myself a little Eiffel Tower in Paris as a souvenir.
'Souvenir' is a loanword from French. The French verb 'se souvenir' means 'to remember'. So a souvenir is literally an object that helps with remembering.
Dieses Armband ist ein schönes Souvenir an unseren gemeinsamen Urlaub.
This bracelet is a lovely souvenir of our vacation together.
Common verbs used with 'Souvenir' (souvenir) are 'kaufen' (to buy), 'mitbringen' (to bring back), and 'sammeln' (to collect). It is also often combined with prepositions such as 'aus' (from) or 'von' (from) to name the place of origin.
Meine Tante bringt mir von jeder Reise ein Souvenir mit.
My aunt brings me back a souvenir from every trip.
To emphasize an object's function as a keepsake, the preposition 'als' (as) is often used. The structure is then: 'etwas als Souvenir kaufen/mitbringen' (to buy/bring something as a souvenir).
Ich habe diese Muschel als Souvenir am Strand gefunden.
I found this shell on the beach as a souvenir.
memory / reminder
'die Erinnerung' and 'das Souvenir' can both mean an object that reminds you of something from the past. 'das Souvenir' is used especially for things you bring back from a trip or from a place you visited, for example a mug or a postcard. 'die Erinnerung' is broader: it can be an object, but also an image or feeling in your mind. Learners may confuse the words when talking about keepsakes. In practice: a souvenir is usually a travel keepsake that was bought or brought back; a memory can also exist without any object at all.
Im Museum habe ich ein kleines Souvenir für meine Schwester gekauft.
At the museum, I bought a small souvenir for my sister.
Die alte Eintrittskarte ist eine schöne Erinnerung an unser erstes Konzert.
The old ticket is a lovely keepsake from our first concert.