virtue
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virtue
A morally valuable quality or attitude of a person. Examples of virtues are honesty, patience, courage, or justice.
Geduld ist eine Tugend, die heutzutage selten geworden ist.
Patience is a virtue that has become rare nowadays.
'Tugend' (virtue) is often used in the structure '[quality] ist eine Tugend' ([quality] is a virtue) to describe a quality as morally valuable. In this way, many positive qualities can be described as a virtue.
In Deutschland gilt Pünktlichkeit als eine wichtige Tugend.
In Germany, punctuality is considered an important virtue.
The word 'Tugend' (virtue) belongs more to elevated or formal language and has a slightly philosophical or old-fashioned sound. It is used less often in everyday conversation.
In seiner Rede sprach der Präsident über die Tugend der Nächstenliebe.
In his speech, the president spoke about the virtue of charity.
The idiom 'aus der Not eine Tugend machen' (to make a virtue of necessity) is fixed and cannot be changed. It means using a negative situation creatively to one's own advantage.
Da der Supermarkt geschlossen hatte, machte sie aus der Not eine Tugend und kochte mit den Resten aus dem Kühlschrank.
Since the supermarket was closed, she made a virtue of necessity and cooked with the leftovers from the fridge.
morality / morale
'die Moral' and 'die Tugend' both belong to the area of right and good behavior. 'die Moral' refers more to the whole system of values and rules in a society or group. 'die Tugend', on the other hand, means a single good quality in a person, for example honesty, patience, or courage. Learners may confuse the words because both sound positive and ethical. The difference is: morality is the framework according to which people are supposed to act; a virtue is a specific good attitude that someone can have.
Geduld ist eine wichtige Tugend, besonders im Umgang mit Kindern.
Patience is an important virtue, especially when dealing with children.
In dieser Diskussion geht es um die Moral unserer Gesellschaft.
This discussion is about the morality of our society.