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Allein , alleine , and einsam

In German, allein and alleine both mean "alone." Essentially, they are variants of the same word. While the two terms are interchangeable in many contexts, allein should be used in more formal or literary contexts, whereas alleine is more for everyday speech. Both words describe the state of being alone in a physical or emotional sense.

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Here, the first example is from the lyrics of a song, whereas the second example is from a dialogue between friends: 

 

Im Regen stehen wir niemals allein.

In the rain we never stand alone.

Caption 7, Andreas Bourani: Auf uns

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Sam, du kannst nicht alleine einkaufen gehen!

Sam, you can't go shopping alone!

Caption 3, Extr@: Teil 02

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A common use of allein/alleine implies that something is insufficient. And the phrase von alleine or von sich alleine implies an independent occurrence, something happening naturally or on its own. 

 

Das ist auch schön, aber das alleine hilft noch nicht.

That is also nice, but that alone still does not help.

Caption 44, Angela Merkel: beim Nachhaltigkeitsrat

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Aber alles andere ist von ganz alleine gekommen.

But everything else came naturally.

Caption 24, Deutsch mit Eylin: Tischsitten

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It's important to note that allein/alleine does not necessarily mean that someone is lonely. The word for lonely or solitary is einsam.

 

Einsamkeit: Keiner spricht mit Franziska, sie fühlt sich einsam.

Loneliness: Nobody talks to Franziska; she feels lonely.

Captions 39-41, Deutsch mit Eylin: Emotionen

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Und ich will für dich da sein wenn du einsam bist.

And I want to be there for you when you are lonely.

Captions 14-15, LOTTE: Dann soll das Liebe sein

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Der Auerhahn legt auf einsame, unterholzreiche Wälder wert.

The wood grouse places value on solitary forests rich with undergrowth.

Caption 41, Die letzten Paradiese Schätze der Natur: Südtirol

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Further Learning
You'll find many more examples of these words on Yabla German. 

 

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