die
Ausbreitung
📖 What does "die Ausbreitung" mean?
Die Ausbreitung (feminine) describes the process or result of something spreading or expanding in space or area. It can refer to physical things as well as abstract concepts.
- Spatial distribution: Covering a larger area, e.g., the Ausbreitung (spread) of a fire 🔥, a plant species 🌿, or a settlement 🏘️.
- Spread of diseases: The increase of infections in a population, e.g., the Ausbreitung (spread) of a flu wave 🦠.
- Spread of ideas/information: The dissemination and growing awareness of news, rumors, or knowledge 📰💡, often via media or social networks.
- Physical processes: The propagation of waves (sound, light) or particles in a medium 🌊🔊.
It's a noun derived from the verb ausbreiten (to spread out). Because it ends in -ung, like most nouns with this ending, it is feminine (die Ausbreitung).
Article rules for der, die, and das
-ung → always feminine.
There are many -ung words, we won't list them all. There are only a few exceptions.
🧐 Grammar: Declension of "die Ausbreitung"
Ausbreitung is a feminine noun. Here are the declension tables for singular and plural:
| Case | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | die | Ausbreitung |
| Genitive | der | Ausbreitung |
| Dative | der | Ausbreitung |
| Accusative | die | Ausbreitung |
| Case | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | die | Ausbreitungen |
| Genitive | der | Ausbreitungen |
| Dative | den | Ausbreitungen |
| Accusative | die | Ausbreitungen |
Example Sentences
- Die schnelle Ausbreitung des Virus bereitete den Behörden Sorgen.
(The rapid spread of the virus worried the authorities.) - Wir beobachten die Ausbreitung der Wüstenbildung mit Besorgnis.
(We observe the spread of desertification with concern.) - Die Ausbreitung neuer Technologien verändert die Arbeitswelt.
(The spread of new technologies is changing the world of work.) - Man konnte die Ausbreitung des Feuers nicht mehr stoppen.
(They could no longer stop the spread of the fire.) - Die Ausbreitungen der Seerosen im Teich müssen kontrolliert werden.
(The spreading (instances) of the water lilies in the pond must be controlled.)
💡 Usage in Context
Ausbreitung is frequently used in contexts describing an increase, distribution, or spread across an area or through a group. Here are some typical use cases:
- Medicine/Biology: Ausbreitung (spread) of diseases, epidemics, pandemics, cancer cells, animal or plant species.
- Physics/Technology: Ausbreitung (propagation) of sound waves, light waves, radio waves, heat.
- Social/Information: Ausbreitung (spread) of news, rumors, opinions, trends, cultures, religions.
- Geography/Environment: Ausbreitung (spread) of deserts, cities, pollution, forest fires.
Comparison with similar words:
- Verbreitung: Very similar and often synonymous with Ausbreitung, sometimes more focused on the distribution of objects or information (e.g., Verbreitung of a magazine).
- Ausdehnung: Often emphasizes the increase in size or extent (e.g., the Ausdehnung of the universe).
- Streuung: Refers more to scattering or dispersion (e.g., Streuung of data points).
- Diffusion: A more specific term, often used physically or chemically for the mixing of particles, but also metaphorically for the slow spread of ideas.
🚨 Be careful not to confuse Ausbreitung (spread) with Ausbeutung (exploitation)!
🧠 Mnemonics
Article Mnemonic: Words ending in -ung are usually feminine, so it's die Ausbreitung.
Meaning Mnemonic: Think of something becoming breit (wide) and spreading aus (out) – that's the Ausbreitung (spread).
🔄 Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms (Similar Meaning):
- Verbreitung: Very common synonym, often interchangeable. (Spread, distribution)
- Ausdehnung: Emphasis on increase in space/extent. (Expansion, extension)
- Streuung: More like scattering, dispersion. (Scattering, dispersion)
- Diffusion: More specific, often physical or slow spread. (Diffusion)
- Entfaltung: Can mean spatial spread, but also development. (Unfolding, development)
- Proliferation: Technical term (e.g., biological, political for weapon proliferation). (Proliferation)
Antonyms (Opposites):
- Eindämmung: Actively stopping the spread. (Containment, curbing)
- Begrenzung: Setting limits, restriction. (Limitation, restriction)
- Konzentration: Gathering in one place. (Concentration)
- Rückgang: Decrease in spread or area. (Decline, decrease)
- Zusammenziehung: Opposite of expansion. (Contraction)
⚠️ Be cautious with words like Ausweitung (broadening, often figurative) or Verteilung (distribution, e.g., of goods), which sound similar but have different nuances.
😂 A Little Joke
DE: Warum sind Gerüchte so schnell?
Weil sie eine unglaubliche Ausbreitungsgeschwindigkeit haben! 😄
EN: Why are rumors so fast?
Because they have an incredible speed of Ausbreitung (propagation/spread)! 😄
📜 Poem about Ausbreitung
DE:
Ein Funke klein, ein Windeshauch,
beginnt die Ausbreitung, ganz sacht im Rauch.
Ein Wort gesagt, ein Keim gelegt,
die Nachricht sich von Mund zu Munde regt.
Ob gut, ob schlecht, ob schnell, ob sacht,
die Ausbreitung hat große Macht.
EN:
A tiny spark, a breath of wind,
the spread begins, gently within the smoke's unpinned.
A word once spoken, a seed now laid,
the news from mouth to mouth conveyed.
Be it good or bad, or fast or slight,
the Ausbreitung holds great might.
🧩 Riddle
DE:
Ich kann ein Feuer sein, das wächst und frisst,
oder eine Nachricht, die niemand vergisst.
Ich bin im Virus, der die Runde macht,
und in der Idee, die Neues schafft.
Manchmal will man mich stoppen, manchmal fördern,
mein Wesen ist, stets weiter zu lodern.
Was bin ich?
EN:
I can be a fire that grows and consumes,
or a message that nobody forgets soon.
I'm in the virus that makes the rounds,
and in the idea where novelty abounds.
Sometimes they want to stop me, sometimes promote,
my nature is always to further float.
What am I?
(Solution: die Ausbreitung)
🔍 Further Details
Word Composition:
The word Ausbreitung is a noun composed of:
- Prefix aus-: indicates movement outwards, expansion, or completion.
- Stem of the verb breiten: meaning 'to make wide', 'to spread'.
- Suffix -ung: forms a feminine noun from the verb, denoting the process or result of the action.
Together, this creates the meaning of 'making oneself wide outwards', i.e., spreading or expansion.
📝 Summary: is it der, die or das Ausbreitung?
The word "Ausbreitung" is always feminine. The correct article is die Ausbreitung. The plural form is die Ausbreitungen.