premonition
die Vorahnung, die Vorahnungen
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premonition
A usually vague feeling or intuitive sense that something specific will happen, often something unpleasant.
Schon am Morgen hatte sie die Vorahnung, dass dieser Tag schlecht enden würde.
She had a premonition that the day would end badly as early as that morning.
| gender | feminine die |
|---|---|
| plural | die Vorahnungen |
| genitive | der Vorahnung |
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | die Vorahnung | die Vorahnungen |
| accusative | die Vorahnung | die Vorahnungen |
| dative | der Vorahnung | den Vorahnungen |
| genitive | der Vorahnung | der Vorahnungen |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
'Vorahnung' is made up of 'Vor-' (before) and 'Ahnung' (intuition). Here, 'Vor-' indicates that the feeling is already present before the expected event.
Meine Vorahnung hat sich bestätigt: Kurz nach unserer Abfahrt blieb das Auto liegen.
My premonition came true: Shortly after we set off, the car broke down.
You can use the pattern 'die Vorahnung haben, dass …' (to have a premonition that …) to express which event you expect. In the following dass-clause, the conjugated verb comes at the end.
Ich hatte die Vorahnung, dass uns auf der Reise Schwierigkeiten erwarten würden.
I had a premonition that we would encounter difficulties on the journey.
Common collocations include 'eine dunkle Vorahnung' (a dark premonition), 'eine böse Vorahnung' (a bad premonition), and 'eine schlimme Vorahnung' (an ominous premonition). These adjectives emphasize that you expect something unpleasant; 'dunkel' also describes the fact that the feeling remains unclear.
Als ich die ernsten Gesichter sah, hatte ich eine dunkle Vorahnung.
When I saw their serious faces, I had a dark premonition.
