die
Bergung
🚢 What does 'die Bergung' mean?
Die Bergung is a feminine noun (das Femininum) in German. It generally refers to the act of rescuing, salvaging, recovering, or securing something or someone from a dangerous situation or a hard-to-reach place. Specific meanings include:
- Rescue of persons: Freeing people from perilous situations (e.g., from debris, from distress at sea, from mountains).
- Salvage/Recovery of goods: Saving or lifting assets (e.g., salvage of a sunken ship, recovery of a crashed vehicle, cargo recovery).
- Data recovery: The rescue of lost or damaged digital data (Datenbergung).
- Securing evidence: Collecting and securing traces or objects at a crime scene.
The word is almost exclusively used with the article 'die'. 🚨 There are no common mistakes regarding the article, as it's clearly feminine.
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 Bergung'
'Die Bergung' is a feminine noun. Here are the declension tables:
| Case (Kasus) | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative (subject) | die | Bergung |
| Genitive (possessive) | der | Bergung |
| Dative (indirect object) | der | Bergung |
| Accusative (direct object) | die | Bergung |
| Case (Kasus) | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | die | Bergungen |
| Genitive | der | Bergungen |
| Dative | den | Bergungen |
| Accusative | die | Bergungen |
✨ Example Sentences
- Die Bergung der Verletzten dauerte Stunden. (The rescue of the injured took hours.)
- Der Erfolg der Bergung des Schiffes ist noch ungewiss. (The success of the ship's salvage is still uncertain.)
- Dank der schnellen Bergung konnten wichtige Daten gerettet werden. (Thanks to the quick recovery, important data could be saved.)
- Es gab mehrere erfolgreiche Bergungen in dieser Woche. (There were several successful recoveries/rescues this week.) (Plural)
🗣️ How is 'Bergung' used?
Die Bergung is often used in contexts related to emergencies, accidents, or the loss of items. Here are typical use cases:
- Emergency services and disaster relief: Fire departments (Feuerwehr), technical relief (THW), mountain rescue (Bergwacht) often speak of the Bergung von Verschütteten (rescue of buried people) or Bergung von Verletzten (rescue of the injured).
- Shipping and aviation: In connection with the Bergung von Schiffswracks (salvage of shipwrecks), aircraft debris, or Seenotrettung (sea rescue, which is also a form of Bergung).
- IT and data: Datenbergung refers to the recovery of lost data from hard drives or other storage media.
- Archaeology and forensics: The Bergung von Fundstücken (recovery of artifacts) or the Bergung von Beweismitteln (securing of evidence).
Differentiation: While Rettung often specifically means the rescue of living beings, Bergung can refer to both people and objects. Sicherstellung emphasizes securing objects (e.g., evidence), while Wiederherstellung is often used in the digital context (recovery).
🧠 Mnemonics for 'die Bergung'
Article Mnemonic (die): Nouns ending in -ung in German are almost always feminine (die). Think of other -ung words like die Achtung (attention), die Meinung (opinion), die Übung (exercise)... and die Bergung.
Meaning Mnemonic (Rescue/Recovery): Imagine someone is lost on a Berg (mountain). The rescue team comes for the Berg-ung. They bergen (rescue/recover) them. Alternatively, think of recovering a valuable iceberg of data – the data Bergung.
↔️ Synonyms and Antonyms
👍 Synonyms (Similar Meaning)
- Rettung: (Rescue) Very similar, often used synonymously, tends to focus more on living beings.
- Sicherstellung: (Securing, seizure) Emphasis is on securing objects (e.g., cargo, evidence).
- Hebung: (Lifting, raising) Specifically lifting sunken objects (e.g., Schiffshebung - ship salvage).
- Wiederherstellung: (Recovery, restoration) Often in the context of data (Datenwiederherstellung - data recovery).
- Evakuierung: (Evacuation) Rescue of many people from an endangered area.
👎 Antonyms (Opposites)
- Verlust: (Loss) The opposite of regaining something.
- Zerstörung: (Destruction) The opposite of saving/preserving.
- Preisgabe: (Abandonment, disclosure) Giving something up instead of recovering it.
- Versenkung: (Sinking, scuttling) The opposite of salvaging a ship.
⚠️ Similar but Different Words
- Gebirge: (Mountain range) Sounds similar but has a completely different meaning.
- Bürgung: (Guarantee, surety) Often confused due to similar pronunciation, but refers to financial security.
😂 A Little Joke
DE: Warum hat der Computer-Techniker Gummistiefel an? Weil er eine Daten-Bergung aus dem Datensumpf durchführt! 💾👢
EN: Why is the computer technician wearing rubber boots? Because he's performing a data Bergung (recovery) from the data swamp!
📜 Poem about Bergung
DE:
Im tiefen Schacht, im kalten Nass,
Wo Hoffnung schwindet, blass und blass.
Da kommt die Hand, der starke Arm,
Die Bergung naht, hält sicher, warm.
Ob Mensch, ob Gut, ob Datensatz,
Sie holt es raus, den wertvollen Schatz.
EN:
In the deep shaft, in the cold wet,
Where hope fades, pale and beset.
There comes the hand, the strong arm near,
The Bergung (rescue) approaches, holds safe, holds dear.
Whether person, goods, or data set,
It brings it out, the valuable treasure yet.
❓ Riddle Time
DE:
Ich hol dich raus aus Not und Pein,
Ob Schiff, ob Mensch, ob Datenschein.
Ich ende auf -ung und bin feminin,
Nach Unfall komm ich oft ins Spiel hinein.
Was bin ich?
...
Antwort: Die Bergung
EN:
I get you out of trouble and pain,
Whether ship, or person, or data domain.
I end in -ung and am feminine,
After an accident, I often come into the scene.
What am I?
...
Answer: Die Bergung
🧩 Further Details
Word Composition
The word 'Bergung' is derived from the verb bergen (to rescue, to salvage, to hide, to secure). The suffix -ung turns the verb into a noun, denoting the process or result of the action. This suffix almost always indicates the feminine gender (die).
Related Terms
- bergen (verb): to rescue, salvage, secure, hide
- geborgen (adjective/past participle): safe, secure, rescued
- Bergungskosten (noun, plural): salvage costs, recovery costs
- Bergungsmannschaft (noun, feminine): rescue team, salvage crew
📝 Summary: is it der, die or das Bergung?
The noun 'Bergung' is always feminine. The correct article is die (die Bergung, der Bergung, der Bergung, die Bergung). It means rescue, recovery, salvage, or securing of people, goods, or data.