Breakdown of Gute Freunde nehmen Rücksicht aufeinander.
gut
good / well
der Freund
the friend
nehmen
to take
die Rücksicht
the consideration
Questions & Answers about Gute Freunde nehmen Rücksicht aufeinander.
How is aufeinander formed, and why is it one word?
It combines the preposition auf with the reciprocal pronoun einander (each other). In German, whenever einander is used with a preposition, the two merge into a single word. Since the verb phrase here requires auf, we get aufeinander.
The English translation says "are considerate of", but the German verb is nehmen (to take). How does this phrase work?
The phrase Rücksicht nehmen auf is a fixed expression. Literally, it translates to "to take consideration onto", but it means "to be considerate of" or "to show consideration for". You will often see basic German verbs like nehmen, geben, or machen paired with nouns to create these kinds of set phrases.
Could I use sich instead and say nehmen Rücksicht auf sich?
No, because that would change the meaning. While the pronoun sich can sometimes translate to "each other", saying auf sich here would mean they take consideration "for themselves". Using aufeinander makes it perfectly clear that the action is reciprocal, meaning it is directed at each other.
Why does Gute end in -e here?