absent-minded / scattered
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absent-minded
Unfocused, mentally absent, and not paying attention to what one is doing.
Er war heute so zerstreut, dass er seinen Schlüssel im Büro vergessen hat.
He was so absent-minded today that he forgot his key at the office.
The word is the past participle of 'zerstreuen' (to scatter / to disperse). The prefix 'zer-' often means a movement apart or a distribution. This fits both scattered thoughts (unfocused) and scattered houses (spread out).
Die Polizei versuchte, die Menschenmenge zu zerstreuen.
The police tried to disperse the crowd.
The meaning depends on the subject. If 'zerstreut' refers to a person, it means 'unkonzentriert' (unfocused). If it refers to things or places such as houses or villages, it means 'spread out across an area.'
Der Redner wirkte nervös und zerstreut.
The speaker seemed nervous and absent-minded.
In the meaning 'unkonzentriert' (unfocused), the word is often used to describe a person. Typical phrases are 'zerstreut wirken' (to seem absent-minded), 'ein zerstreuter Mensch sein' (to be an absent-minded person), or the cliché of the 'zerstreuter Professor' (absent-minded professor).
Entschuldigung, ich war gerade etwas zerstreut. Können Sie das wiederholen?
Sorry, I was a bit absent-minded just now. Could you repeat that?
In the meaning 'verteilt' (spread out), the word is often used in geographical or spatial descriptions. It frequently appears together with verbs such as 'liegen' (to lie / to be located) or 'leben' (to live).
Die Mitglieder der Gemeinschaft leben zerstreut über das ganze Land.
The members of the community live scattered across the whole country.
attentive / considerate
'aufmerksam' and 'zerstreut' describe two opposites here in thinking and acting. Someone who is 'aufmerksam' has their mind on what they are doing, listens carefully, and notices important details. Someone who is 'zerstreut' is unfocused or mentally somewhere else. So 'aufmerksam' fits when someone participates well or works carefully. 'zerstreut' fits when someone makes mistakes, forgets things, or does not really listen.
Am Morgen war Paul so zerstreut, dass er seinen Schlüssel im Kühlschrank gesucht hat.
In the morning, Paul was so absent-minded that he looked for his key in the refrigerator.
Während der Besprechung warst du sehr aufmerksam und hast dir alles notiert.
During the meeting, you were very attentive and wrote everything down.