What does “auf meinem Niveau” mean in German?

Schönheitsideale, männliche Privilegien und der Druck auf Frauen

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B2 German listening practice · German · Picked for people who know more

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auf meinem Niveau
When "my level" becomes a put-down
“On my level” — measuring someone against your own standard, and finding them short.

In this clip a man acts out how some men brush off a confident woman: “die ist jetzt ja aber auch nicht auf meinem Niveau” — “she’s not really on my level.” Niveau (“nee-VOH”) is French-origin and means standard or quality. Used about a person, auf meinem Niveau means measuring someone against your own bar — and the speaker is mocking men who use it as a put-down. The woman is fine; the pride is the joke.

Spoken line: “die ist jetzt ja aber auch nicht auf meinem Niveau” — “she’s not really on my level.” Niveau comes from French and means level, standard, or quality. With auf meinem / deinem / hohem Niveau, you are placing someone or something on an imaginary scale. Examples: - “Der Job ist unter meinem Niveau.” — “The job is below my level / beneath me.” - “Wir sind auf demselben Niveau.” — “We’re on the same level.” - “Das Gespräch war auf hohem Niveau.” — “The conversation was high quality / sophisticated.” Note: said about a person, “nicht auf meinem Niveau” sounds proud or dismissive — the speaker in this clip is making fun of exactly that attitude. Said about a task or a conversation, “auf hohem Niveau” simply means high quality with no judgment of another person.

From WDR↗ on YouTube.Watch original

How common are the words?

How common are the words in this B2 German listening practice video?

87.8%
of words are in the top 2,000 most common German words
Most of the words in this video are common German words.

How common in written German

83.7%
Top 1,000
87.8%
Top 2,000
93.9%
Top 5,000

How common in spoken German

93.1%
Top 1,000
96.6%
Top 2,000
100%
Top 5,000
👄 Words for talking
This video uses words people often say in German.

Harder words in this video

These words are harder than B2. Here is what they mean.

unterliege
1×
Not in top 5,000
I am subject to
selbstbewusst
1×
Not in top 5,000
self-confident
och
1×
Not in top 5,000
(Scottish/dialect) oh
präsenz
1×
Not in top 5,000
presence
dynamisch
1×
Not in top 5,000
dynamic

Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-DE 2011 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.

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