Morgenschwimmer crasht Modenschau am Strand in Sydney
B2 German listening practice · German · Curated for upper-intermediate learners
What does “seelenruhig” mean in German?
A local swimmer walks straight through a beach fashion show, and the clip says he “dehnt sich erst mal seelenruhig” — he stretches, totally calm, right at the edge of the runway. “seelenruhig” paints someone who is completely at ease while everyone around them is tense. Use it when a person stays cool and unbothered in a busy or stressful moment, as if very little could rush them.
Spoken line: “dehnt sich erst mal seelenruhig am Rand des Laufstegs” — “first he stretches, totally calm, at the edge of the runway.” “seelenruhig” comes from “Seele” (soul) + “ruhig” (calm), so it means calm right down to the soul — very relaxed, not a care in the world. - “Sie blieb seelenruhig sitzen, während alle in Panik gerieten.” — She stayed perfectly calm and seated while everyone else panicked. - “Er trank seelenruhig seinen Kaffee, obwohl der Bus gleich kam.” — He drank his coffee totally calmly, even though the bus was about to arrive. Usage notes: you can use it to describe how someone acts (“seelenruhig warten” — waiting totally calmly) or to describe a person directly (“sie war ganz seelenruhig” — she was completely calm). The tone is often a little admiring or amused — the calm person looks cool next to everyone else’s stress, which is exactly the joke in this clip.
Vocabulary frequency
How common is the vocabulary in this B2 German listening practice listening practice?
General German frequency
Spoken German frequency
Words above this video’s level
Quick glosses for vocabulary that goes beyond this video’s B2 level.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-DE 2011 (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.