das Unwissen
ignorance
The state of not knowing something or of having no knowledge in a particular area.
EXAMPLE
Aus reinem Unwissen hat er einen schweren Fehler gemacht.
Out of pure ignorance, he made a serious mistake.
das Unwissen
ignorance
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Meanings
Usage tips
Word structure
The word consists of the prefix 'Un-', which expresses negation, and the noun 'Wissen' (knowledge). 'Unwissen' (ignorance) therefore literally means 'not-knowing' or 'lack of knowledge'.
EXAMPLE
Sein Unwissen über die Regeln führte zu Problemen.
His ignorance of the rules led to problems.
Use with "aus"
To state the reason for an action, 'Unwissen' (ignorance) is very often combined with the preposition 'aus' (out of). The phrase 'aus Unwissen' means 'because one did not know'.
EXAMPLE
Er hat die Pflanze aus Unwissen falsch gegossen.
He watered the plant incorrectly out of ignorance.
Fixed expression
There is a well-known German proverb: 'Unwissenheit schützt vor Strafe nicht.' It means that you are still responsible for a mistake even if you did not know it was a mistake.
EXAMPLE
Er wusste nicht, dass Parken hier verboten ist, aber Unwissenheit schützt vor Strafe nicht.
He did not know that parking is forbidden here, but ignorance is no excuse.
Compare with
Unwissen vs Ignoranz
ignorance
Ignoranz and Unwissen can both refer to a lack of knowledge. Unwissen simply says that someone does not know something. Ignoranz can also mean this lack, but it can additionally accuse someone of deliberately disregarding known facts.
Unwissen
Er wies die Fakten aus Unwissen zurück, weil er sie noch nicht kannte.
He rejected the facts out of ignorance because he was not yet aware of them.
Ignoranz
Er kannte die Fakten, wies sie aber aus Ignoranz zurück.
He knew the facts but rejected them out of ignorance.
In real life
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