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Refers to content on the internet, such as videos, images, or news, that spreads extremely quickly and widely through sharing on social networks.
Das Video von der tanzenden Katze ging innerhalb weniger Stunden viral.
The video of the dancing cat went viral within a few hours.
The meaning of 'viral' depends entirely on the topic. In the context of the internet, social media, and content, it means 'spreading quickly'. In the context of medicine and illness, it means 'caused by a virus'.
Sein Tweet wurde über Nacht viral und erreichte Millionen Menschen.
His tweet went viral overnight and reached millions of people.
In an internet context, the combination 'viral gehen' (to go viral) is very common. It means that something, such as a video, image, or post, spreads extremely quickly on the internet.
Niemand hätte gedacht, dass dieses einfache Rezept viral gehen würde.
No one would have thought that this simple recipe would go viral.
Common combinations are 'ein virales Video' (a viral video), 'ein viraler Hit' (a viral hit), 'ein viraler Trend' (a viral trend), or the phrase 'sich viral verbreiten' (to spread virally).
Die Marketingkampagne hat sich viral im Netz verbreitet.
The marketing campaign spread virally online.
The medical meaning is mainly used in technical or formal contexts. Typical combinations are 'virale Infektion' (viral infection), 'viraler Erreger' (viral pathogen), or 'virale Erkrankung' (viral illness).
Eine Erkältung wird meist durch einen viralen Infekt ausgelöst.
A cold is usually triggered by a viral infection.
popular / called for
'angesagt' and 'viral' can both describe that many people notice or like something. 'angesagt' generally means that something is trendy or popular, for example a place, a style, or a product. 'viral' is used mainly for internet content that spreads very quickly through sharing. A video can be viral and become popular / trendy as a result. But not everything that is 'angesagt' is also viral. 'viral' normally needs an internet context.
Das kurze Video aus dem Zug ging über Nacht viral.
The short video from the train went viral overnight.
Im Büro spricht Julia oft über die angesagte Serie.
At the office, Julia often talks about the popular series.