crime
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crime
A serious criminal offense that is prohibited by law and punished, such as murder, robbery, or fraud.
Einbruch in ein bewohntes Haus wird als schweres Verbrechen gewertet.
Breaking into an occupied house is classified as a serious crime.
crime
In a figurative sense, a very foolish, immoral, or harmful act, even if it is not illegal.
Es ist ein Verbrechen, so ein wertvolles altes Buch einfach wegzuwerfen.
It is a crime to simply throw away such a valuable old book.
'Das Verbrechen' (the crime/the act) is part of a word family with 'der Verbrecher' (the criminal/the person) and the verb 'verbrechen' (to commit a crime/the action). If you know one word, you can understand the others more easily.
Der Verbrecher wurde für sein Verbrechen zu einer langen Haftstrafe verurteilt.
The criminal was sentenced to a long prison term for his crime.
The word contains the verb 'brechen' (to break), as in 'ein Gesetz brechen' (to break a law). The prefix 'ver-' intensifies the negative meaning here and indicates that something was done wrongly or badly.
Er hat mit seinem Handeln das Gesetz gebrochen.
Through his actions, he broke the law.
The most important verb in this context is 'ein Verbrechen begehen' (to commit a crime). Other common combinations are 'ein Verbrechen aufklären' (to solve a crime, used of police) or 'ein Verbrechen verhindern' (to prevent a crime).
Die Polizei konnte das Verbrechen schnell aufklären.
The police were able to solve the crime quickly.
You often recognize the figurative meaning from the structure 'Es ist ein Verbrechen, ... zu tun' (It is a crime to do ...). This criticizes an action as morally wrong or as a great waste, without it necessarily being illegal.
Es ist ein Verbrechen, so viel gutes Essen wegzuwerfen.
It is a crime to throw away so much good food.
deed / act
Verbrechen refers to a serious criminal act and thus evaluates its type and severity. Tat places more emphasis on what someone did and can also refer to a criminal act. Use Verbrechen for classifying the offense and Tat for the act that was carried out.
Der bewaffnete Raub war ein schweres Verbrechen.
The armed robbery was a serious crime.
Nach der Tat floh der bewaffnete Räuber mit dem Geld.
After the crime, the armed robber fled with the money.
