season / relay / squadron
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season
A complete set of episodes of a television series that are produced and broadcast together; a TV season.
Die dritte Staffel der Serie war meiner Meinung nach die beste.
In my opinion, the third season of the series was the best.
'Die Staffel' is a false friend of the English word 'staff'. 'Staff' means 'das Personal' or 'die Mitarbeiter' in German, while 'die Staffel' refers to a TV season, a sports relay team, or a military unit.
Das gesamte Personal des Hotels war sehr freundlich.
The entire hotel staff was very friendly.
The meaning of 'Staffel' is almost always clear from the context. Words like 'Serie' (series) or 'Folge' (episode) point to a TV season, 'laufen' (to run) or 'schwimmen' (to swim) to sports, and 'Flugzeuge' (aircraft) or 'Militär' (military) to a unit.
Ich freue mich schon auf die nächste Staffel meiner Lieblingsserie.
I'm already looking forward to the next season of my favorite series.
In the context of television series, 'Staffel' (season) is often used with verbs like 'schauen' (to watch) or 'veröffentlichen' (to release). Typical phrases also include 'die erste/zweite/letzte Staffel' (the first/second/last season) and 'eine Staffel mit X Folgen' (a season with X episodes).
Am Wochenende habe ich eine ganze Staffel auf einmal geschaut.
At the weekend, I watched a whole season all at once.
In a sports context, typical combinations are 'eine Staffel laufen/schwimmen' (to run/swim a relay) or 'in der Staffel antreten' (to compete in the relay). A central term is also 'der Staffelstab' (the baton), which is passed on.
Er ist der schnellste Läufer in unserer Staffel.
He is the fastest runner in our relay team.
The meaning 'Stufe einer Leiter' (rung of a ladder) is very rare today and is considered outdated or regional. You will find it almost only in old literature or in certain dialects.
Vorsicht, die oberste Staffel der Leiter ist morsch.
Careful, the top rung of the ladder is rotten.
consequence / episode
'die Folge' and 'die Staffel' both belong to the language of series, podcasts, or radio plays. A 'Folge' is a single episode. A 'Staffel' is a larger unit and consists of several episodes. Learners can easily confuse the words because both occur when talking about series. If you mean just one individual part, use 'Folge'. If you mean a whole group of episodes, use 'Staffel'.
Am Abend sehen wir die erste Staffel der Serie weiter.
This evening, we will continue watching the first season of the series.
Die neue Folge des Podcasts dauert nur zwanzig Minuten.
The new episode of the podcast is only twenty minutes long.