imagination
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imagination
A person's ability to create images, situations, or concepts in the mind that are not real or present. It is the basis for creativity and fantasy.
Gute Bücher regen die Vorstellungskraft der Leser an.
Good books stimulate readers' imagination.
The word is composed of 'Vorstellung' (idea/mental image) and 'Kraft' (power/strength). A 'Vorstellung' here is a mental image, and 'Kraft' means strength or ability. So it is literally the 'power to imagine things.'
Ein Architekt braucht viel Vorstellungskraft.
An architect needs a lot of imagination.
Common verbs used with 'Vorstellungskraft' (imagination) are 'haben' (to have), 'besitzen' (to possess), 'brauchen' (to need), or 'anregen' (to stimulate). If something is unimaginable, you can say that it 'übersteigt' (exceeds) the imagination.
Die Schönheit der Landschaft überstieg meine Vorstellungskraft.
The beauty of the landscape exceeded my imagination.
To describe imagination, adjectives such as 'lebhaft' (vivid), 'blühend' (fertile), 'groß' (great), or 'rege' (active) are often used. The opposite would be 'wenig' (little) or 'keine' (no) imagination.
Kinder haben oft eine sehr lebhafte Vorstellungskraft.
Children often have a very vivid imagination.
idea / performance / introduction
'die Vorstellung' and 'die Vorstellungskraft' both belong to thinking in the mind. 'die Vorstellung' is more like a single image, idea, or thought that you form. 'die Vorstellungskraft' is the ability to create such images or situations in your mind in the first place. So you can have a specific Vorstellung of a house, but you need Vorstellungskraft for that. Learners may confuse the words because they look similar. A simple guide is: 'Vorstellung' is the result in the mind; 'Vorstellungskraft' is the ability to do it.
Für diese Geschichte braucht man viel Vorstellungskraft, weil die Welt ganz anders ist als unsere.
You need a lot of imagination for this story because the world is completely different from ours.
Eva hat eine klare Vorstellung davon, wie die neue Wohnung aussehen soll.
Eva has a clear idea of what the new apartment should look like.