Why do I need to know Neujahrsvorsätze?
Because this word is one you're likely to hear pretty often at this time of year, as it describes a key tradition that many people take part in during late December and early January.
What does it mean?
Die Neujahrsvorsätze are - you guessed it - new year's resolutions. Pronounced like this, the word combines das Neujahr, or new year, with die Vorsätze, which is the plural of Vorsatz, or resolution.
With the clean slate of a brand new year ahead, it's common practice in Germany to set some key goals or consider things you want to change in the coming year.
READ ALSO: German phrase of the day - Zwischen den Jahren
After the excesses of Christmas, many people are keen to get back on track in January with a brand new exercise and healthy eating regimen, so getting fit (fit werden) or losing weight (abnehmen) are popular resolutions.
Another common resolution is to cut down on bad habits by resolving to drink less alcohol (weniger Alkohol trinken) or quit smoking (mit dem Rauchen aufhören), or build up better habits like reading more books (mehr Bücher lesen) or calling your relatives more often (meine Verwandten öfter anrufen).
Whatever you decide, though, it's best to make your Neujahrsvorsätze achievable and realistic, so you don't have to confess "Ich habe meine Neujahrsvorsätze schon gebrochen" (I've already broken my new years' resolutions) by the second week of January.
Use it like this:
Hast du Neujahrsvorsätze für 2025 gemacht?
Nein. Ich mache in der Regel keine Neujahrsvorsätze.
Have you made new years' resolutions for 2025?
No. I don't usually make new years' resolutions.
Ich will nächstes Jahr viel mehr Zeit für meine Hobbys machen. Das ist mein wichtigster Neujahrsvorsatz.
I want to make much more time for my hobbies next year. That's my main new year's resolution.
Comments