What does “innerer Kompass” mean in German?

Disziplin im Alltag und beim Deutschlernen leicht gemacht

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B1 German listening practice · German · Picked for people who know some

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innerer Kompass
A picture-word for an everyday idea
“inner compass” — the inner sense that keeps you heading the right way.

Charlotte says discipline feels less like rules and more like an “innerer Kompass” — something that helps you go in the right direction, even when the path gets rocky. “Kompass” is just compass, and “innerer” means inner. Together they paint a feeling: not a boss pushing you, but a quiet sense inside that points you the right way. Germans often build images like this to make an abstract idea easy to feel.

Spoken line: “Disziplin ist für mich eher wie ein innerer Kompass — etwas, das einem hilft, in die richtige Richtung zu gehen, auch wenn der Weg mal steinig ist.” (“For me, discipline is more like an inner compass — something that helps you go the right way, even when the path is sometimes rocky.”) “Kompass” = compass. “Innerer / innere / inneres” = inner, and the ending changes to fit the word it sits with. So the picture is your own built-in direction-finder, not a real device. More examples: - “Mein innerer Kompass sagt mir, das ist falsch.” = My inner compass tells me that’s wrong. - “Sie hat einen starken inneren Kompass.” = She has a strong inner sense of direction. - “Hör auf deinen inneren Kompass.” = Listen to your inner compass. Usage note: people use this for values and gut feeling — what feels right to you — not for street directions. It usually sounds warm and personal, the way Charlotte means it here.

How common are the words?

How common are the words in this B1 German listening practice video?

90%
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

85%
Top 1,000
90%
Top 2,000
96.9%
Top 5,000

How common in spoken German

91.4%
Top 1,000
97%
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 B1. Here is what they mean.

diszipliniert
5×
Not in top 5,000
disciplined
pünktlichkeit
4×
Not in top 5,000
punctuality
deutschcast
2×
Not in top 5,000
(proper noun) Deutschcast
einkaufsliste
2×
Not in top 5,000
shopping list
guttut
2×
Not in top 5,000
(fragment)

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

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