strudel / whirlpool
Loading your saved state.
strudel
A sweet pastry made from thin dough that is covered with a filling, often apples, quark, or poppy seeds, then rolled up and baked.
Zum Nachtisch gab es warmen Apfelstrudel mit Vanillesoße.
For dessert, there was warm apple strudel with vanilla sauce.
All meanings of the word 'Strudel' are connected by the idea of a swirling or rolling movement. The pastry is rolled, the whirlpool turns in a circle, and in the figurative sense, one is 'swept away' by a situation.
Sie rollte den Teig für den Strudel vorsichtig auf.
She carefully rolled up the dough for the strudel.
The context makes the meaning clear. Words like 'Apfel' (apple), 'backen' (to bake), or 'Nachtisch' (dessert) point to the pastry (m01). 'Wasser' (water), 'Fluss' (river), or 'Boot' (boat) refer to the water vortex (m02). Abstract terms like 'Schulden' (debts), 'Gefühle' (feelings), or 'Gewalt' (violence) signal the figurative meaning (m03).
Er bestellte ein Stück warmen Strudel mit Sahne.
He ordered a piece of warm strudel with cream.
With the pastry, the filling is often named directly in the word, e.g. 'Apfelstrudel' (apple strudel), 'Quarkstrudel' (quark strudel), or 'Mohnstrudel' (poppy-seed strudel). It is often served 'mit Vanillesoße' (with vanilla sauce) or 'mit Puderzucker' (with powdered sugar).
In Wien habe ich einen fantastischen Topfenstrudel gegessen.
In Vienna, I ate a fantastic Topfenstrudel.
The phrase 'in einen Strudel geraten' (to get caught in a whirlpool/vortex) is used both for the water vortex and for the figurative meaning. It vividly describes how one is caught up in a situation and loses control.
Nach dem Tod seiner Frau geriet er in einen tiefen Strudel der Trauer.
After his wife's death, he fell into a deep vortex of grief.
cake
'der Kuchen' and 'der Strudel' both belong to sweet baked goods that are baked in the oven. 'Kuchen' is the more general word and can have many forms, for example with chocolate, fruit, or cream. 'Strudel' is more specific: it is made from thin dough, filled, rolled up, and then baked. Learners may confuse the words because a strudel is a sweet pastry eaten with coffee. If you are talking generally about baked goods, 'Kuchen' fits; if you mean the typical rolled shape with a filling, 'Strudel' is more precise.
Nach dem Essen gibt es warmen Apfelstrudel mit Vanillesoße.
After the meal, there is warm apple strudel with vanilla sauce.
Zum Geburtstag hat Lisa einen Kuchen mit Schokolade gebacken.
Lisa baked a chocolate cake for the birthday.