vicious circle
Loading your saved state.
vicious circle
A situation that seems to have no way out, in which one problem causes a consequence that in turn makes the original problem worse.
Armut und mangelnde Bildung bilden oft einen Teufelskreis, aus dem es schwer ist auszubrechen.
Poverty and lack of education often form a vicious circle that is hard to break out of.
The word is a figurative compound made up of 'Teufel' (devil) and 'Kreis' (circle). It describes a situation so negative and hopeless that it seems as if it had been created by the devil himself.
Er erkannte, dass seine Schulden und seine Arbeitslosigkeit ein Teufelskreis waren.
He realized that his debts and his unemployment were a vicious circle.
To describe escaping from this situation, active verbs such as 'durchbrechen' (to break), 'ausbrechen' (to break out), or 'entkommen' (to escape) are often used.
Mit professioneller Hilfe konnte sie den Teufelskreis der Sucht durchbrechen.
With professional help, she was able to break the vicious circle of addiction.
To express that someone is in this situation, the preposition 'in' is used with the dative. Typical phrases are 'in einem Teufelskreis stecken' (to be stuck in a vicious circle), 'sich in einem Teufelskreis befinden' (to be in a vicious circle), or 'in einem Teufelskreis gefangen sein' (to be trapped in a vicious circle).
Viele junge Leute stecken in dem Teufelskreis aus befristeten Jobs und finanzieller Unsicherheit.
Many young people are stuck in the vicious circle of temporary jobs and financial insecurity.
moor / bog
'das Moor' and 'der Teufelskreis' can both describe, in a figurative sense, a difficult situation that is hard to get out of. 'Moor' (quagmire) sounds more metaphorical: you are stuck, everything is unclear, and every step makes things harder. 'Teufelskreis' (vicious circle) is more precise when one problem keeps creating a new problem and thereby becomes even worse. The words can be confused because both describe a hopeless situation. If you want to emphasize being stuck, 'Moor' fits. If you want to show the cycle of cause and effect, 'Teufelskreis' is more precise.
Ohne Schlaf ist sie müde, und weil sie müde ist, macht sie Fehler: ein echter Teufelskreis.
Without sleep she is tired, and because she is tired, she makes mistakes: a real vicious circle.
Nach mehreren falschen Entscheidungen steckt Max immer tiefer im Moor der Bürokratie.
After several wrong decisions, Max is sinking deeper and deeper into the quagmire of bureaucracy.