Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
um Arbeit vorsprechen
English translation:
apply/ask for work
Added to glossary by
Rachel Ward
Mar 6, 2008 14:29
16 yrs ago
3 viewers *
German term
um Arbeit vorsprechen
German to English
Art/Literary
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
short story
All the dictionaries I've looked in give "audition" for "vorsprechen" but you don't audition as a woodcutter. Would it be OK just to put "who was applying for work"?
"Es war einmal ein Holzfäller, der bei einer Holzgesellschaft **um Arbeit vorsprach**."
"Es war einmal ein Holzfäller, der bei einer Holzgesellschaft **um Arbeit vorsprach**."
Proposed translations
(English)
5 +5 | apply/ask for work |
Carmen Berelson
![]() |
3 +1 | apply for work |
Manuela Junghans
![]() |
4 | to apply for work |
Harald Moelzer (medical-translator)
![]() |
4 | to enquire about work |
GeorginaW (X)
![]() |
3 | look for work |
Sonali Hegde
![]() |
Proposed translations
+5
3 mins
Selected
apply/ask for work
it simply means somebody is going to a company, asking for work. Usually, the term "um Arbeit vorsprechen" is used for day laborers.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks Carmen. "Ask for work" it is!"
+1
2 mins
apply for work
yes, I´d say apply is what is meant here
3 mins
to apply for work
my first thought, too!
6 mins
to enquire about work
The snippet sounds like a fairystory: Once upon a time there was a woodman who called at a timber company to enquire about work.
14 hrs
look for work
Just another option... Like nomads, laborers, usually go looking for work from place to place.
Once upon a time, a woodcutter came along, looking for work in a ...
Once upon a time, a woodcutter came along, looking for work in a ...
Something went wrong...