die Wunde
wound
An injury to the body in which the skin or tissue is damaged by an external force.
EXAMPLE
Der Arzt hat die Wunde gereinigt und einen Verband angelegt.
The doctor cleaned the wound and applied a bandage.
die Wunde
wound
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Meanings
die Wunde
wound
An emotional injury or painful experience that weighs on a person emotionally.
EXAMPLE
Der Verrat seines besten Freundes hat eine tiefe Wunde in seiner Seele hinterlassen.
The betrayal by his best friend left a deep wound in his soul.
Usage tips
Context clue
The context tells you whether a physical or emotional injury is meant. Words like 'Arzt' (doctor), 'Haut' (skin), or 'bluten' (to bleed) point to the physical wound, while 'Herz' (heart), 'Seele' (soul), or 'Verrat' (betrayal) refer to the figurative, emotional meaning.
EXAMPLE
Er hat eine kleine Wunde am Knie, die aber nicht schlimm ist.
He has a small wound on his knee, but it's not serious.
Typical collocations
In a medical context, a wound is often 'versorgt' (treated), 'gereinigt' (cleaned), 'desinfiziert' (disinfected), or 'genäht' (stitched). When it gets better, you say that the wound 'heilt' (heals).
EXAMPLE
Die Wunde muss regelmäßig desinfiziert werden, damit sie gut heilt.
The wound has to be disinfected regularly so that it heals well.
Fixed expressions
The emotional meaning is often used in fixed expressions. Well-known ones include 'alte Wunden aufreißen' (to reopen old wounds) or the proverb 'Die Zeit heilt alle Wunden' (time heals all wounds).
EXAMPLE
Das Gespräch über die Vergangenheit hat nur alte Wunden aufgerissen.
The conversation about the past only reopened old wounds.
Compare with
Wunde vs Schnitt
cut
Schnitt and Wunde can both refer to an injury caused by a knife. Schnitt emphasizes that the injury was caused by cutting and is usually narrow; Wunde is the more general term for an injured area of the body. For this particular type of injury, Schnitt is more precise; otherwise, use Wunde.
Wunde
Die Wunde am Finger musste schnell verbunden werden.
The wound on his finger had to be bandaged quickly.
Schnitt
Der schmale Schnitt am Finger blutete noch ein wenig.
The narrow cut on his finger was still bleeding a little.
In real life
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