Learn Hardcore German: Die Stillen sitzen am Rand und schauen einfach nur zu, was sie aber nicht weniger glücklich macht. - The quiet ones sit at the edge and just watch, which doesn’t make them any less happy.

still is normally an adjective: ein stilles Kind (a quiet child).
German can turn adjectives into nouns by adding an article and the correct ending:
- der Stille – the quiet one (male, singular)
- die Stille – the quiet one (female, singular)
- die Stillen – the quiet ones (plural, any gender mix)

Because it’s used as a noun, Stillen is capitalized.
Here it’s nominative plural: Die Stillen sitzen … = The quiet ones are sitting …

Why is it sitzen am Rand and not something like sitzen auf dem Rand?

am Rand is the usual expression in German and literally means “at the edge” or “on the sidelines.”

Details:

am = contraction of an dem.
an + Dativ here: an dem Rand → am Rand.
am Rand sitzen is idiomatic for being at the edge of a group/space, or socially “on the sidelines”.
auf dem Rand would suggest literally sitting on top of the edge of a physical object (e.g. on the edge of a bathtub), and is much more concrete.

In this sentence, am Rand fits the metaphorical idea of quiet people sitting away from the center of activity.

What is the difference between schauen, zuschauen, zusehen, and ansehen here?

In this sentence we have schauen … zu, which is the separable verb zuschauen.

Typical meanings:

schauen – to look (rather general; often used in southern Germany/Austria).
zuschauen – to watch (as a spectator), to watch what others are doing.
zusehen – very similar to zuschauen; often slightly more neutral or standard.
ansehen (jemanden / etwas ansehen) – to look at, to examine with your eyes, more directed.

So schauen einfach nur zu means: they’re just watching (from the outside), not actively participating.

Why is zu at the end of schauen einfach nur zu? What’s going on with the verb?

zuschauen is a separable verb:

Infinitive: zuschauen
Base verb: schauen
Prefix: zu

In main clauses, separable verbs split:

Sie schauen zu. – They watch.
With adverbs inserted:
- Sie schauen einfach nur zu. – They’re simply just watching.

The personal form (schauen) stays in second position; the prefix (zu) goes to the end of the clause. That’s why we see schauen einfach nur zu instead of zuschauen einfach nur.

What does einfach nur add to the meaning? Could I say only schauen zu?

einfach nur is a common intensifying combination that emphasizes “just” or “only” in a slightly emotional way.

schauen zu – they watch.
nur zuschauen – they only watch / they just watch.
einfach nur zuschauen – they simply just watch, they’re really just observing and nothing more; it can sound a bit more casual or empathetic.

You could say schauen nur zu, or sie schauen zu, and it would still be correct, but einfach nur stresses that they are not doing anything else, and it can sound slightly more conversational and expressive.

What does the was in …, was sie aber nicht weniger glücklich macht refer to?

Here, was is a relative pronoun that refers back to the entire preceding clause:

Antecedent: Die Stillen sitzen am Rand und schauen einfach nur zu (that whole situation).
Relative clause: was sie aber nicht weniger glücklich macht (which, however, doesn’t make them any less happy).

So was doesn’t refer to a single noun like Rand or Stillen, but to “the fact that they sit on the sidelines and just watch.”

German uses was (not das) as a relative pronoun:

after whole clauses or vague ideas (like das, alles, nichts, etwas)
- Er kam zu spät, was mich überrascht hat.
after adjectives used as nouns, pronouns, etc., when you mean “which (thing/fact)”.

So was here = “which (fact)”.

Why is it was sie … glücklich macht and not was sie … glücklich machen? Shouldn’t the verb be plural to match die Stillen?

The subject of macht is was, not sie.

was (referring to the situation) is grammatically neuter singular.
So the verb agrees with was: was … macht (singular).

The structure is:

[Das,] was sie tun, macht sie glücklich.
- was = what they do → singular.
- macht agrees with was.

sie in this clause is the object (accusative plural: them), not the subject. So singular macht is correct.

What role does aber play in was sie aber nicht weniger glücklich macht? Could I leave it out or replace it?

Here aber is not the coordinating conjunction “but” starting a new main clause. It’s used inside the relative clause as a flavoring particle.

Nuance:

was sie nicht weniger glücklich macht – which does not make them less happy.
was sie aber nicht weniger glücklich macht – which, however, does not make them less happy.

aber here is similar to English “however / though”, softening or contrasting with what you might expect (you might expect them to be less happy because they’re only watching).

Possible alternatives:

was sie jedoch nicht weniger glücklich macht – a bit more formal.
was sie allerdings nicht weniger glücklich macht – also quite common.

You can leave aber out grammatically, but you lose that little contrastive nuance.

What does nicht weniger glücklich mean exactly? Is it a double negative?

nicht weniger glücklich literally: “not less happy.”

Idiomatic English: “no less happy” or “not any less happy.”

It’s not a true double negative in German; it’s a comparative structure:

weniger glücklich – less happy.
nicht weniger glücklich – not less happy → they are at least as happy as others.

So the idea is:
Even though they’re just watching from the sidelines, they’re just as happy as the people in the middle.

In was sie aber nicht weniger glücklich macht, what case is sie, and why isn’t it ihnen?

In macht sie glücklich, the verb pattern is:

etwas macht jemanden glücklich
(something makes someone happy)

So:

sie is Akkusativ Plural = them.
glücklich is a predicative adjective describing sie.
The subject (nominative) is was.

If you used ihnen (dative), it would no longer fit this pattern.
Dative could appear in another structure, for example:

Es bereitet ihnen Freude. – It gives them joy.

But here the verb is jemanden glücklich machen, which demands an accusative object: sie.

Could the sentence also be written as …, aber das macht sie nicht weniger glücklich? How would that differ in tone or structure?

Yes, you can rephrase:

Die Stillen sitzen am Rand und schauen einfach nur zu, aber das macht sie nicht weniger glücklich.

Differences:

Structure
- Original: uses a relative clause:
  - …, was sie aber nicht weniger glücklich macht.
- Alternative: uses a main clause with aber:
  - …, aber das macht sie nicht weniger glücklich.
Style
- The original is slightly more integrated and a bit more elegant/literary because the whole situation is wrapped into a relative clause.
- The aber das version is a bit more explicit and conversational: you clearly point to das (= that fact) and then comment on it in a separate main clause.

Both are correct and natural; it’s mainly a stylistic choice.

Why is the relative pronoun was used instead of das in this sentence?

After a whole preceding clause or situation, German usually uses was, not das, as the relative pronoun:

Er ist zu spät gekommen, was mich sehr geärgert hat.
(He came late, which annoyed me a lot.)

In your sentence, was refers to the entire fact:

Die Stillen sitzen am Rand und schauen einfach nur zu,
was sie aber nicht weniger glücklich macht.

If you said …, das sie aber nicht weniger glücklich macht, most native speakers would either find it odd or understand das as referring to some specific neuter noun, not the whole situation. was is the natural choice for “which (fact)” here.

Is there anything special about Die Stillen as a phrase compared to something like die Ruhigen?

Both die Stillen and die Ruhigen are adjectives used as nouns with similar meaning: “the quiet ones.”

Nuance:

still tends to focus on people who are silent, calm, withdrawn, not talking much.
ruhig emphasizes being calm, not loud, not hectic; a bit broader.

So Die Stillen suggests people who are quiet, maybe more introverted or silent, whereas die Ruhigen could also be calm but not necessarily silent.

Grammatically they work the same way:

die Stillen, die Ruhigen, die Schüchternen, die Lauten, etc. – all are adjectives used as plural nouns.