What does “ewige Profess” mean in German?
Leben als Ordensschwester: Entscheidung für ein anderes Glück
B1 German listening practice · German · Picked for people who know some
A young woman explains why she joined a convent: “Bei der ewigen Profess verheiraten wir uns sozusagen ewig mit Jesus.” The ewige Profess is the final vow a nun takes — a lifelong promise, like a wedding to God. Ewig means “forever,” so this is the version that never ends. She adds sozusagen (“so to speak”) because she knows that “marrying Jesus” sounds strange to people outside the convent, and she says it with pure joy.
Spoken line: “Also bei der ewigen Profess verheiraten wir uns sozusagen ewig mit Jesus.” — “So with the lifelong vow, we marry ourselves to Jesus forever, so to speak.” • Profess is the vow a nun or monk makes; the ewige (forever) one is the final, lifelong commitment. • Ewig means “eternal / forever”: “ein ewiges Versprechen” = “a promise for life.” • sozusagen = “so to speak / in a way.” People use it to soften a bold or surprising image, exactly as she does here. • Heads-up: “verheiraten” usually means “to marry off / get married”; here she uses it as a picture, not a real wedding.
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Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-DE 2011 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.