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Nuances of sich freuen

In the spirit of the season, today's newsletter is about expressing joy and happiness with the reflexive verb sich freuen. You may know that the related noun is die Freude, which is the German word for "joy."

For sich freuen, what can get confusing is whether to use the preposition auf or über, and sometimes you don't need either. First, let's take a look at sentences in which a subordinate clause with dass allows the expression of happiness, joy, or contentedness about something that is either happening or has already happened. 

 

Amy, wir freuen uns total, dass du bei uns bist.

Amy, we're really happy that you're with us.

Caption 68, Cats: Amy singt „Erinnerung“ bei The Voice Kids

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Ich freue mich sehr, dass wir die Eröffnung der Verhandlungen beschließen konnten,

I am very pleased that we were able to decide to begin the negotiations,

Caption 23, Angela Merkel: Gemeinsame Pressekonferenz mit Barack Obama

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This can also happen with the conditional and may involve the conjunction wenn:

 

Wir würden uns total freuen, wenn ihr beim nächsten Mal zu uns kommt.

We would be very happy if you joined us next time.

Caption 60, SingInKA-Chor: Interview

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Aber ich würde mich auf jeden Fall freuen, sie mal kennenzulernen.

But I would definitely be happy to meet her.

Caption 21, Cassandra Steen: Interview

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Often, however, there is no subordinate clause, and what is happening or has happened is expressed with a noun. In this case, you need the preposition über, which in this case translates to "about." 

 

Der Tierschutzverein Nied freut sich über jede ernstgemeinte Unterstützung.

The Nied Animal Protection Society is happy about any serious support.

Caption 58, Für Tierfreunde: Tierheim Nied

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Veranstalter Christian Müller freut sich über die hervorragenden Rahmenbedingungen.

Organizer Christian Müller is happy about the outstanding conditions.

Caption 31, Wintersport: Engadin Snow 2009

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With the preposition auf, the meaning of sich freuen changes slightly, because the future is referenced. Therefore, the most common translation of sich auf etwas freuen is "to look forward to something."

 

Sie freuen sich auf diesen Tag, genauso wie auch ich.

They're looking forward to this day, just like I am, too.

Caption 7, Allessa: Zu Weihnachten wünsch ich mir dich

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Ich freue mich auf deine Nachricht.

I'm looking forward to your message.

Caption 46, Deutsch mit Eylin: Ernährungsformen

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Further Learning
What are you happy about? What are you looking forward to? Construct a few sentences, looking for extra examples on Yabla German if you get stuck. 

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