What does “Verdrängung” mean in German?

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

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Verdrängung
Mind & emotions word
Pushing an uncomfortable thought or feeling out of your awareness so you stop noticing it.

In the Freud part, the video says dreams may reveal hidden wishes and heal damage caused by “ihrer Verdrängung” — by our pushing those thoughts away. So “Verdrängung” is the act of shoving an unwanted feeling or memory out of your mind until you forget it is there. It is a serious, often psychological word. People also use it more loosely for any problem they keep avoiding instead of facing.

Spoken line: “psychische Schäden heilen, die von ihrer Verdrängung her rührten” — “heal mental damage that came from their repression (from pushing them away).” More examples: - “Das ist reine Verdrängung.” = “That’s pure avoidance — you’re just not dealing with it.” - “Die Verdrängung der eigenen Angst macht es oft schlimmer.” = “Pushing your own fear out of mind often makes it worse.” - “Er lebt in Verdrängung.” = “He’s in denial; he refuses to face it.” Usage notes: Often paired with “von” (von ihrer Verdrängung = from their repression). The verb is “verdrängen” (to push aside / repress / crowd out). It can mean a deep mental defence, or simply ignoring a problem you don’t want to think about.

How common are the words?

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

88.2%
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

76.2%
Top 1,000
88.2%
Top 2,000
95.2%
Top 5,000

How common in spoken German

88.6%
Top 1,000
96.1%
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.

rem
2×
Not in top 5,000
rem (radiation unit)
unbewussten
2×
Not in top 5,000
unconscious
abonniere
1×
Not in top 5,000
subscribe (present tense)
activation
1×
Not in top 5,000
activation
albträume
1×
Not in top 5,000
nightmares

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

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