funnel / crater
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funnel
A cone-shaped tool with a narrow opening at the bottom, used to pour liquids or powders into a container with a small opening.
Benutz einen Trichter, damit du den Saft nicht in der ganzen Küche verschüttest.
Use a funnel so you don't spill the juice all over the kitchen.
You can recognize the meaning of 'Trichter' from the context. If it is about liquids and containers, it means the tool. With explosions or the ground, it means a crater. In connection with traffic or crowds, it means a bottleneck.
Ich brauche einen Trichter, um das Öl in die kleine Flasche zu füllen.
I need a funnel to pour the oil into the small bottle.
When 'Trichter' (funnel) means the tool, it is often used with verbs such as 'einfüllen' (to fill/pour in), 'gießen' (to pour), or 'benutzen' (to use), and with the preposition 'durch' (through).
Gieß die Suppe langsam durch den Trichter in die Thermoskanne.
Pour the soup slowly through the funnel into the thermos.
In the meaning 'Engstelle' (bottleneck), 'Trichter' is used metaphorically. It describes a situation in which something wide, such as a multi-lane road, is concentrated into a narrow point. The phrase 'einen Trichter bilden' (to form a bottleneck) is commonly used.
Wegen der Demonstration bildet sich am Eingang zum Park ein Trichter.
Because of the demonstration, a bottleneck is forming at the entrance to the park.
depression / deepening
'die Vertiefung' and 'der Trichter' can both mean a lower spot in the ground. 'Vertiefung' is a general word for a place that is lower than its surroundings. 'Trichter' describes a specific shape: wider at the top and narrower toward the bottom, similar to the tool used for pouring liquids. As a landform, a 'Trichter' often forms because of an explosion. That is why 'Trichter' is more precise when the shape and the cause are important. 'Vertiefung' fits better when you only want to say generally that there is a hollow or lower spot there.
Nach der Explosion blieb auf dem Feld ein tiefer Trichter zurück.
After the explosion, a deep crater was left in the field.
Im weichen Sand war eine runde Vertiefung zu sehen.
A round depression could be seen in the soft sand.