Beginner German Mistake der Freund

Beginner German Mistake der Freund The word Freund in German is at times ambiguous since it can mean either friend or boyfriend. The same with Freundin, which can mean either a female friend or a girlfriend. The use of der Freund/ die Freundin relies on contextual cues to give you an accurate meaning. Consider the Following Sentences Er ist mein bester FreundMein amerikanischer FreundMein Freund HeinzEr ist ein Freund fà ¼rs LebenWir sind FreundeEr ist ein Freund von mirEr ist mein FreundEr ist ein FreundEinen festen Freund habenEin echter FreundMein echter freundHast du einen Freund?Ist er dein Freund?Hast du Freunde?Ich war mit einem Freund im Urlaub Which of the above sentences signify â€Å"friend†, which ones â€Å"boyfriend†? Fortunately, Germans have construed set phrases to differentiate between the two. To mean strictly a friend, er ist ein Freund/ sie ist eine Freundin von mir is usually said. To add more â€Å"amore†, then the possessive pronoun will be used: er ist mein Freund/sie ist meine Freundin. If you want to talk in general about a boyfriend/girlfriend, simply einen Freund haben/eine Freundin haben or einen festen Freund haben/ eine feste Freundin haben will do. For example, if you wanted to ask somebody if she has a boyfriend, you could say either Hast du einen festen Freund? or Hast du einen Freund? But remember above all, context is key. Avoid the Embarrassment In order to not mix up a friend with a boyfriend and avoid some eyebrow raising, a good rule of thumb to keep would be the following: Usually anything with a possessive pronoun such as mein (except for mein bester Freund and other phrases, see below), and fest can be safely considered to be boyfriend territory. Take note however that women are more apt to call their female friends meine Freundin, whereas men prefer to introduce their male friends as ein Freund von mir. The term ein Freund (without von mir tagged behind it) can be interpreted either way depending on the context and the speaker’s intent. Keeping all this in mind, the aforementioned phrases could be translated as follows: Er ist mein bester Freund. (He is my best friend.)Mein amerikanischer Freund. (My American boyfriend)Mein Freund Heinz. (My boyfriend Heinz)Er ist ein Freund fà ¼rs Leben. (He is a friend for life.)Wir sind Freunde. (We are friends.)Er ist ein Freund von mir. (He is a friend of mine.)Er ist mein Freund. (He is my boyfriend.)Mein guter Freund. (My good friend.)Er ist ein Freund. (He is a friend.)Einen festen Freund haben. (To have a boyfriend.)Ein echter Freund. (A true friend.)Mein echter Freund. (My true friend/My real boyfriend.)Hast du einen Freund? (Do you have a boyfriend?)Ist er dein Freund? (Is he your boyfriend?)Hast du Freunde? (Do you have friends?)Ich war mit einem Freund im Urlaub. (I was on vacation with a friend.) Why the Ambiguity? It is interesting to note that the Old High German word for Freund, namely friunt as well as the Middle High German vriunt was used interchangeably with both close friends and relatives even up till the 1700s. The meaning of Freund can be traced back to the pre-Old High German word frijond which was the present participle of the verb frijon, ‘to love’. Further, Germans tend to use the word Freund less liberally than Americans, since ein Freund is really reserved for close friends. In less close-knit friendships, the other person is often considered by Germans to be â€Å"ein Bekannter† or â€Å"ein Kumpel.† Synonyms for Freund: der Kamerad, der Kumpel, der Kollege, der Gefhrte, die/der Atze (Berlin).Synonyms for Freund as Boyfriend/Girlfriend: der Geliebte/die Geliebte, der Lebenspartner/ die Lebenspartnerin, der Lebensgefhrte/ die Lebensgefhrtin.Expressions with Freund: das Freund-Feind-Denken an â€Å"if you’re not for us, you’re against us† way of thinkingDas habe ich ihm unter Freunden gesagt that was just between the two of us

Coordination Number Definition in Chemistry

Coordination Number Definition in Chemistry The coordination number of an atom in a molecule is the number of atoms bonded to the atom. In chemistry and crystallography, the coordination number describes the number of neighbor atoms with respect to a central atom. The term was originally defined in 1893 by Swiss chemist Alfred Werner (1866–1919). The value of the coordination number is determined differently for crystals and molecules. The coordination number can vary from as low as 2 to as high as 16. The value depends on the relative sizes of the central atom and ligands and by the charge from the electronic configuration of an ion. The coordination number of an atom in a molecule or polyatomic ion is found by counting the number of atoms bound to it (note, not by counting the number of chemical bonds). Its more difficult to determine chemical bonding in solid-state crystals, so the coordination number in crystals is found by counting the number of neighboring atoms. Most commonly, the coordination number looks at an atom in the interior of a lattice, with neighbors extending in all directions. However, in certain contexts crystal surfaces are important (e.g., heterogeneous catalysis and material science), where the coordination number for an interior atom is the bulk coordination number and the value for a surface atom is the surface coordination number. In coordination complexes, only the first (sigma) bond between the central atom and ligands counts. Pi bonds to the ligands are not included in the calculation. Coordination Number Examples Carbon has a coordination number of 4 in a methane (CH4) molecule since it has four hydrogen atoms bonded to it.In ethylene (H2CCH2), the coordination number of each carbon is 3, where each C is bonded to 2H 1C for a total of 3 atoms.The coordination number of diamond is 4, as each carbon atom rests at the center of a regular tetrahedron formed by four carbon atoms. Calculating the Coordination Number Here are the steps for identifying the coordination number of a coordination compound. Identify the central atom in the chemical formula. Usually, this is a transition metal.Locate the atom, molecule, or ion nearest the central metal atom. To do this, find the molecule or ion directly beside the metal symbol in the chemical formula of the coordination compound. If the central atom is in the middle of the formula, there will be neighboring atoms/molecules/ions on both sides.Add the number of atoms of the nearest atom/molecule/ions. The central atom may only be bonded to one other element, but you still need to note the number of atoms of that element in the formula. If the central atom is in the middle of the formula, youll need to add up the atoms in the entire molecule.Find the total number of nearest atoms. If the metal has two bonded atoms, add together both numbers, Coordination Number Geometry There are multiple possible geometric configurations for most coordination numbers. Coordination Number 2- linearCoordination Number 3- trigonal planar (e.g., CO32-), trigonal pyramid, T-shapedCoordination Number 4- tetrahedral, square planarCoordination Number 5- square pyramid (e.g., oxovanadium salts, vanadyl VO2), trigonal bipyramid,  Coordination Number 6- hexagonal planar, trigonal prism, octahedralCoordination Number 7- capped octahedron, capped trigonal prism, pentagonal bipyramidCoordination Number 8- dodecahedron, cube, square antiprism, hexagonal bipyramidCoordination Number 9- three-face centered trigonal prismCoordination Number 10- bicapped square antiprismCoordination Number 11- all-faced capped trigonal prismCoordination Number 12- cuboctahedron (e.g., Ceric ammonium nitrate -(NH4)2Ce(NO3)6)