sensibel or vernünftig?
b1English sensible is German vernünftig. German sensibel means sensitive - easily hurt, finely attuned. Nearly the opposite of what an English speaker expects.
sensibel
Sensitive, easily hurt; also of instruments and topics: ein sensibles Messgerät, ein sensibles Thema.
Sie ist ein sehr sensibler Mensch.She's a very sensitive person.
vernünftig
What English sensible means: reasonable, level-headed, appropriate. „sinnvoll“ often fits too.
Das war eine vernünftige Entscheidung.That was a sensible decision.
The mistake
Sei sensibel und nimm den Schirm mit.
Sei vernünftig und nimm den Schirm mit.
The wrong sentence asks for sensitivity when reason was meant. That is „vernünftig“.
Rule of thumb
Mnemonic: sensibel belongs to feeling, vernünftig to the head.
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