What does it mean?
Not to be confused with the English word "dour", Dauer (die) - pronounced like this - literally means "duration" or "length of time".
For example: Die Dauer des Films beträgt zwei Stunden ("the length of the film is two hours").
The phrase Auf Dauer means "in the long term" (literally, in the duration).
Dauer comes fro the German verb dauern (to last or to take time), which you you could hear from your boss at work - Wieso dauert es so lang? ("Why is it taking so long") - or possibly use at home with your German speaking children.
Why do I need to know Dauer?
The true magic of Dauer lies in the fact that you can add it to the front of numerous German nouns to create a blissful sense of permanence and predictability.
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A Welle (wave), for example, is something which is here one moment and gone the next, evaporating in a spray of white foam on a rocky beach.
A Dauerwelle (perm), on the other hand, is something you can rely on to stick around for a while.
Die Karten is the word for "ticket". Dauerkarten are season tickets.
A Dauerzustand is a permeant condition, a Dauerläufer is a long-distance runner, and a Dauercamper lives in his motorhome.
Dauerregen (constant rain) is something we would all rather avoid, along with Dauerkrisen and Dauerkonflikten.
A Dauerbrenner is a topic that remains relevant or interesting over time and a Dauerauftrag is the word you need to know if you want to set up a standing order with your bank.
Use it like this:
Auf Dauer ist das keine Lösung.
In the long run, that's not a solution.
Er blieb nur fĂĽr die Dauer der Veranstaltung.
He only stayed for the duration of the event.
Diese Beziehung hat keine Dauer.
This relationship won’t last.
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Der Ausnahmezustand scheint langsam zum Dauerzustand zu werden.
The state of emergency is slowly becoming a permanent condition.
Das Thema Klimawandel ist ein Dauerbrenner in den Medien.
The topic of climate change is an evergreen issue in the media.
Ich habe einen Dauerauftrag eingerichtet, um meine Miete jeden Monat automatisch zu ĂĽberweisen.
I set up a standing order to transfer my rent automatically every month.
Der Spieler ist ein echter Dauerläufer – er fällt nie aus und liefert immer ab.
The player is a true consistent performer – he never misses a game and always
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