unklar
unclear
Not clear or difficult to understand, recognize, or perceive; vague or ambiguous.
EXAMPLE
Seine Antwort auf meine Frage war sehr unklar.
His answer to my question was very unclear.
unklar
unclear
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Meanings
unklar
unclear
Not certain, uncertain, or not yet decided.
EXAMPLE
Es ist noch unklar, wer die Wahl gewinnen wird.
It is still unclear who will win the election.
sich über etwas unklar sein
to be unsure about something
To be personally unsure or undecided about something.
EXAMPLE
Ich bin mir noch unklar darüber, ob ich das Jobangebot annehmen soll.
I am still unsure about whether I should accept the job offer.
Usage tips
Word structure
The adjective 'unklar' (unclear) is the opposite of 'klar' (clear). The prefix 'un-' is very productive in German and is often used to reverse the meaning of an adjective or adverb.
EXAMPLE
Seine Handschrift ist so unklar, dass ich sie nicht lesen kann.
His handwriting is so unclear that I can't read it.
Sentence structure with 'es'
To express uncertainty, the structure 'Es ist unklar, ...' (It is unclear, ...) is often used, followed by a subordinate clause. This subordinate clause, often introduced by 'ob' (whether), 'wer' (who), or 'wann' (when), describes exactly what is uncertain.
EXAMPLE
Es ist unklar, ob er zur Party kommen wird.
It is unclear whether he will come to the party.
Reflexive expression
The expression 'sich über etwas unklar sein' (to be unsure about something) describes personal uncertainty. Pay attention to the reflexive structure: the person who is unsure appears with a dative pronoun (mir, dir, sich).
EXAMPLE
Sie ist sich noch unklar darüber, ob sie den Job annehmen soll.
She is still unsure about whether she should accept the job.
Compare with
unbekanntgrauunentschiedenunverständlichvageungeklärtunbestimmtunscharfundeutlichmissverständlichdiffusschleierhaft
unklar vs unbekannt
unknown
A cause is unknown when the necessary knowledge about it is lacking. It is unclear when the available information does not provide a definite answer or when several explanations are possible. Use unbekannt when there is no information; when the evidence is contradictory or ambiguous, use unklar.
unklar
Die Ursache des Stromausfalls ist unklar, weil die Messungen einander widersprechen.
The cause of the power outage is unclear because the measurements contradict one another.
unbekannt
Die Ursache des Stromausfalls ist unbekannt, weil bisher keine Daten vorliegen.
The cause of the power outage is unknown because no data is available yet.
In real life
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