Question: einlegen vs reinlegen

Hello :slight_smile: I was wondering if someone could help me with the main difference between these two. I’m getting confuse to know how to say I put something into something or just to put in. They are really similar for me :upside_down_face:.

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It’s not that complicated:

  • “etwas einlegen” means “to insert” or “to lay in”
  • “jemanden reinlegen” means “to take someone in” or “to play a trick on someone” --> Germans do that often at April 1st :wink:
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Thank you very much :relaxed:. Not as complicated as I though :raised_hands:.

As @SKrausser pointed out, “einlegen” would be more in the direction of “to insert” (e.g., a DVD into a DVD player). As for your question about how to say “to put sth into sth”, I’d suggest “etwas in etwas hineinlegen:upside_down_face:

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Thank you, @ameliea :blush:. I have another question :sweat_smile: Can you say "Ich einlege die Käse in Kühlschrank? oder nur “Ich einlege die Käse in Kühlschrank?”

@27sp.sandra As mentioned before, “einlegen” is a rather specific term. In the Kühlschrank-scenario, you’d use either “hineinlegen” or just “legen”. I.e., “Ich lege Käse in den Kühlschrank [hinein]”

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Again @27sp.sandra: I actually just thought about other meanings of the verbs in your original question. So maybe just as a quick summary:

Einlegen
Meanings:
a) to insert
b) to marinate (e.g., meat for Barbecues)
c) to preserve/pickle fruit/vegetables
Examples (present/past):
a) Ich lege die CD in den CD-Player ein. / Ich habe die CD in den CD-Player eingelegt.
b) Ich lege das Fleisch in Knoblauchöl ein. / Ich habe das Fleisch in Knoblauchöl eingelegt.
c) Ich lege die Gurken in Essig ein. / Ich habe die Gurken in Essig eingelegt.

reinlegen
Meaning:
To cheat someone / to play a trick on someone
Example:
Ich lege meinen Freund rein. / Ich habe meinen Freund reingelegt.

hineinlegen
Meaning:
To put something into something
Example:
Ich lege den Käse in den Kühlschrank hinein. / Ich habe den Käse in den Kühlschrank hinein gelegt.

legen [in/auf/unter/neben]
Meaning:
To put / to place [something in/on/under/next to]
Example:
Ich lege den Käse in den Kühlschrank. / Ich habe den Käse in den Kühlschrank gelegt.

Hope this helps!

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Awesome, :blush: Thank you very much! Yes it helps a lot.

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Another small addition to -einlegen-. We also often say “Ich lege eine Pause ein.” That means - I take a break.

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And another small addition to “reinlegen” – just to make it a little more confusing :sweat_smile: : you might hear people use “rein” in spoken German as a replacement for “hinein”, i.e. “Ich hab den Käse in den Kühlschrank reingelegt” :see_no_evil:

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@Nils.Schneider Do you use “rein…” that way in your Badisch dialect? :thinking: :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Thank you! It is not that confusing, no worries :blush:. I have a question is it like that in all the regions?

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Good question @27sp.sandra! I’d say it varies, this might be more common the more South you go

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Definitely right! In Southern Germany that’s very common!

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@SKrausser we say ‘‘nei’’ instead of ‘‘rein’’.

  • Mir hewwe euch neiglegt. - Wir haben euch reingelegt.
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Hab auch ich schon wieder was gelernt! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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