Breakdown of Egal, wie gut deine Orientierung ist, du läufst hier im Kreis.
sein
to be
du
you (informal singular)
hier
here
gut
good / well
wie
how
dein
your (informal)
laufen
to walk / to run (steady pace, jog)
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
egal
all the same, not mattering
der Kreis
the circle
die Orientierung
the orientation
Questions & Answers about Egal, wie gut deine Orientierung ist, du läufst hier im Kreis.
How does the phrase Egal, wie work here?
It translates to "No matter how". When you use egal with a question word like wie, it starts a subordinate clause. That is why the verb ist is pushed to the very end of the first part of the sentence.
Why does the second part start with du läufst instead of läufst du? Doesn't the verb usually come first after a comma?
Normally, if a sentence starts with a subordinate clause, the following main clause must start with the verb. However, Egal phrases are a common exception. They are often treated as an independent thought outside the main sentence, so the following clause just uses standard subject-verb order (du läufst).
Is Orientierung the normal way to say "sense of direction" in German?
Yes! While it literally means "orientation", Germans commonly use Orientierung to describe someone's sense of direction.
Why does the German sentence say im Kreis instead of using a plural word for "circles"?
In English we say "walking in circles", but the German idiom uses the singular form. You say im Kreis laufen, which literally means "to run in the circle".
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