Nouns Ending in -fall

Quite often, nouns that end in -fall are closely connected with the related verb ending in fallen. But as we know from last week's lesson, many of those verbs have little to do with physically falling—and the same goes for their respective nouns. What might help is knowing that the noun der Fall itself can be translated not only as "the fall," but as "the case," "the situation," "the instance," or "the circumstances."

Just last week, Eylin released a video about what to do when there is an emergency, or ein Notfall.

Im Notfall zählt bekanntlich jede Minute.

In an accident, it is well-known that every minute counts.

Caption 15, Sicherheit im Straßenverkehr: Versicherer entwickeln automatischen Notruf für alle Autos
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The noun der Unfall is very important to know in this context, as it means "the accident." The noun der Vorfall means "the incident," and may also be relevant.

Die Straße ist gesperrt, weil ein Unfall passiert ist.

The road is closed because an accident has occurred.

Caption 5, Deutsch mit Eylin: Konjunktionen
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Erich Gomolka wird rund eine halbe Stunde nach dem Vorfall in eine Klinik gebracht.

About half an hour after the incident, Erich Gomolka is brought to a clinic.

Captions 65-66, Lebensretter: Lotta und Oskar retten ihren Opa
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Here you can see that many nouns refer to a specific type of occurrence or event, but not all!

Erste Untersuchungen ergaben, dass der Ausfall des U-Boots auf eine Implosion zurückzuführen war.

Initial investigations revealed that the failure of the submarine was due to an implosion.

Captions 48-49, Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten: Der deutsch-französische Freundschaftspass
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In Deutschland wird, wie in vielen anderen Ländern auch, als Teil der Recyclingpolitik der Abfall getrennt.

In Germany, like in many other countries, waste is separated as part of the recycling policy.

Captions 3-4, Eva erklärt Mülltrennung
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Das soll der Regelfall sein.

That should be the norm.

Caption 25, Umweltbewusstes Wohnen: Zu Besuch in einem Wiener Passivhaus
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Doch welche Versicherung zahlt im Schadensfall?

But which insurance pays the damages?

Caption 19, Kfz-Diebstahl: Kriminelle klauen weniger, aber teurere Autos
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Das ist doch toll, dass aus Zufall so was entstehen kann! -Absolut, ja.

It's great that something like that can happen by chance! -Absolutely, yes.

Caption 54, Deutsch mit Paula: In der Physiotherapie-Praxis
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Further Learning
In addition to finding words on Yabla German, you can look up two more nouns: der Rückfall and der Überfall.