attentive / facing
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attentive
Describes a person who is open, friendly, and attentive in their dealings with other people.
Sie ist eine sehr geduldige und ihren Schülern zugewandte Lehrerin.
She is a very patient teacher who is attentive to her students.
facing
Describes physical orientation toward a person or object.
Er saß dem Fenster zugewandt und blickte nach draußen.
He sat facing the window and looked outside.
'Zugewandt' (attentive/facing) is the past participle of the separable verb 'zuwenden'. The verb means to direct one's attention, or oneself, toward someone or something.
Ein guter Arzt wendet sich seinen Patienten aufmerksam zu.
A good doctor turns attentively to his patients.
The adjective is often combined with a dative object that indicates to whom or what the attention or physical orientation is directed.
Sie ist ihren Mitmenschen stets freundlich zugewandt.
She is always friendly and attentive to her fellow human beings.
You can recognize the figurative meaning ('friendly, open') by the fact that it describes a character trait. The literal meaning ('turned toward') describes a concrete body position in a situation.
Er ist ein sehr offener und den Menschen zugewandter Politiker.
He is a very open politician who is attentive to people.
In the meaning of 'friendly', 'zugewandt' (attentive) is often used to describe people or their behavior. Typical phrases are 'ein zugewandter Mensch' (an attentive/open person), 'eine zugewandte Art' (an attentive manner), or 'ein zugewandtes Lächeln' (a warm/attentive smile).
Ihre zugewandte Art macht sie bei Kollegen sehr beliebt.
Her attentive manner makes her very popular with colleagues.
