trail / trailer
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trail
A narrow path or track, often through rough terrain such as forests or mountains, used for sports activities like hiking, mountain biking, or running.
Am Wochenende fahren wir mit den Mountainbikes einen neuen Trail in den Alpen.
At the weekend, we're going to ride a new trail in the Alps on our mountain bikes.
'Trail' is a modern loanword from English. In German, it is used mainly in the sports and leisure scene.
Dieser Trail ist nur für erfahrene Mountainbiker geeignet.
This trail is suitable only for experienced mountain bikers.
You can recognize the meaning from the context. If it is about sports, nature, or mountains, it means the path. In the context of media, film, or television, it has the rarer meaning 'Werbefilm' (promotional film/trailer).
Wir sind am Sonntag einen wunderschönen Trail am See entlang gewandert.
On Sunday, we hiked along a beautiful trail by the lake.
In a sports context, 'Trail' is often combined with verbs such as 'fahren' (to ride, by bike), 'laufen' (to run), or 'wandern' (to hike). Common compounds are 'Mountainbike-Trail' (mountain bike trail) or 'Wander-Trail' (hiking trail).
Beim Trailrunning läuft man auf unbefestigten Wegen.
In trail running, you run on unpaved paths.
In the meaning 'Werbefilm' (promotional film/trailer), the word 'Trail' is very rare and is used mainly in the specialized language of the media industry.
Die Marketingabteilung hat den Trail für die nächste Staffel produziert.
The marketing department produced the trailer for the next season.
route / distance
'die Strecke' and 'der Trail' can both mean a route that you cover. 'die Strecke' is neutral and very general: it can be long or short and can be in the city, on a road, or in nature. 'der Trail' more often means a narrow path in nature, often in a forest or in the mountains, and is especially used for sports such as hiking, running, or mountain biking. Learners may confuse the words because both occur in contexts of movement and sports. As a practical rule: the length or route is a 'Strecke'; the natural, often sporty path is a 'Trail'.
Auf dem schmalen Trail im Wald mussten wir die Fahrräder langsam schieben.
On the narrow trail in the forest, we had to push the bikes slowly.
Für den Lauf am Sonntag hat Sofia eine Strecke von zehn Kilometern geplant.
For the run on Sunday, Sofia has planned a ten-kilometer route.