What does “kurzsichtig” mean in German?

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

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kurzsichtig
Short + seeing — how German names nearsightedness
Nearsighted — literally “short-seeing”: close things are clear, far things blur.

The clip describes nearsightedness — in German, kurzsichtig. German builds the word from two parts: kurz (short) and -sichtig (seeing). The eye bends light too strongly, so the focus lands in front of the back of the eye instead of right on it. Near things look clear, far things go blurry. Once you know the parts, the opposite, weitsichtig (far-seeing), is easy to read too.

Spoken line: “Augen mit einem Brennpunkt vor der Netzhaut werden als kurzsichtig bezeichnet.” (Eyes with a focal point in front of the retina are called nearsighted.) How the pieces work: kurz = short, and the -sichtig part means “-seeing.” So kurzsichtig = “short-seeing,” used for an eye that sees close things clearly but far things blurry. The same pattern builds the family: - weitsichtig = “far-seeing” (weit = far) — the opposite case, far things clear, near things blurry. The clip pairs the two directly. - Kurzsichtigkeit = the noun, “nearsightedness” (add -keit to turn it into a thing). - kurzsichtig can also mean “short-sighted” about a plan or decision, the way English uses it too — usually a bit critical. Once you know kurz + sichtig, you can work out the others instead of memorizing each as a new word.

How common are the words?

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

88.6%
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

81.2%
Top 1,000
88.6%
Top 2,000
96.2%
Top 5,000

How common in spoken German

87.3%
Top 1,000
97.2%
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.

netzhaut
6×
Not in top 5,000
retina
hornhaut
4×
Not in top 5,000
callus
brechungsfehler
3×
Not in top 5,000
refractive error
verschwommen
3×
Not in top 5,000
blurred/fuzzy/hazy
alterssichtigkeit
2×
Not in top 5,000
presbyopia (age-related)

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

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