unfamiliar
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unfamiliar
Not familiar or known; different from what one is used to and therefore often felt to be foreign or strange.
Das Essen schmeckte gut, aber die Gewürze waren für mich ungewohnt.
The food tasted good, but the spices were unfamiliar to me.
The word is made up of the prefix 'un-' (a negation) and the adjective 'gewohnt' (used to, familiar). So it literally means 'not used to' or 'not familiar'.
Die Stille in der Stadt war für ihn sehr ungewohnt.
The silence in the city was very unfamiliar to him.
If 'ungewohnt' (unfamiliar) stands alone or before a noun, it means 'unfamiliar'. However, if an accusative object follows, it describes that a person is not used to that thing.
Die Situation war für alle ungewohnt und etwas peinlich.
The situation was unfamiliar to everyone and a little embarrassing.
In the meaning 'to not be used to something', a special structure is used: the person is the subject, followed by 'sein' (to be), the accusative object (the thing), and 'ungewohnt' (unaccustomed).
Nach seinem Urlaub war er die schwere körperliche Arbeit ungewohnt.
After his vacation, he was unaccustomed to the heavy physical work.
new
'neu' and 'ungewohnt' can both mean that something is unfamiliar or different from before. 'neu' is more about the fact itself: a situation, place, or thing is different or was previously unknown. 'ungewohnt' focuses more on the feeling: something feels unfamiliar, strange, or not yet normal. Learners may confuse the words because new things are often also unfamiliar. But not everything new is unpleasant or strange, and something can be unfamiliar even though it is not really new.
Bei der Arbeit ist es für Anna ungewohnt, plötzlich im Großraumbüro zu sitzen.
At work, Anna finds it unfamiliar to suddenly be sitting in an open-plan office.
In der neuen Schule kennt du am Anfang noch nicht alle Räume.
In the new school, you don’t know all the rooms at first.