Breakdown of Wenn mein Selbstbewusstsein stark ist, halte ich Kritik leichter aus.
Questions & Answers about Wenn mein Selbstbewusstsein stark ist, halte ich Kritik leichter aus.
Wenn introduces a subordinate clause (a Nebensatz). In German subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb goes to the end of the clause.
Word order pattern:
- Wenn + [subject/other elements] + verb (at the end)
So:
- Wenn (subordinating conjunction)
- mein Selbstbewusstsein (subject)
- stark (predicate adjective)
- ist (verb at the end)
Other examples:
- Wenn das Wetter gut ist, gehe ich spazieren.
- Wenn ich müde bin, trinke ich Kaffee.
So ist is at the end simply because wenn makes it a subordinate clause.
After a subordinate clause like Wenn mein Selbstbewusstsein stark ist, the whole subordinate clause counts as position 1 in the main clause’s word order. German main clauses are verb-second (V2):
- Position 1: some element (here: the whole Wenn-clause)
- Position 2: conjugated verb
- Then: subject and the rest
So the main clause is ordered like this:
- [Wenn mein Selbstbewusstsein stark ist], (position 1)
- halte (position 2 – the conjugated verb)
- ich (subject)
- Kritik leichter aus (object + adverb + separable verb prefix)
If you don’t start with the wenn-clause, it would be:
- Ich halte Kritik leichter aus, wenn mein Selbstbewusstsein stark ist.
Here, Ich is in position 1, halte is in position 2. Both word orders are correct; they just emphasize different parts slightly.
Selbstbewusstsein literally means self-awareness, but in everyday use it usually means self-confidence – how sure you feel about yourself and your worth.
Comparisons:
- Selbstbewusstsein – general self-confidence, sense of self, inner security.
- Selbstvertrauen – more literally trust in yourself, confidence in your own abilities.
In many contexts, they overlap and you can use either. In this sentence:
- Wenn mein Selbstbewusstsein stark ist, halte ich Kritik leichter aus.
you could also say:
- Wenn mein Selbstvertrauen stark ist, halte ich Kritik leichter aus.
The nuance:
- Selbstbewusstsein: I feel secure in who I am.
- Selbstvertrauen: I trust I can handle things / perform well.
Both would make sense when talking about dealing with criticism.
Abstract, uncountable nouns in German are often used without an article when speaking in a general sense:
- Kritik aushalten – to endure criticism (in general)
- Geduld haben – to have patience
- Hoffnung geben – to give hope
Here, Kritik means criticism in general, not a specific, concrete piece of criticism. If you wanted to refer to a specific criticism, you could add an article:
- die Kritik aushalten, die ich bekomme – endure the criticism that I receive
- eine harte Kritik aushalten – endure a harsh criticism
But the sentence is about criticism as a general thing, so no article is needed.
Aushalten is a separable verb (trennbares Verb):
- Base form: aushalten
- Meaning here: to endure, to withstand, to tolerate
In the main clause, separable verbs split:
- The conjugated part (halte) goes into the verb-second position.
- The prefix (aus) goes to the end of the clause.
So:
- Infinitive: Kritik aushalten – to endure criticism
- Main clause: Ich halte Kritik aus. – I endure criticism.
- With an adverb: Ich halte Kritik leichter aus. – I endure criticism more easily.
In subordinate clauses introduced by dass, wenn, etc., the verb is not split; it goes to the end as one unit:
- …, weil ich viel Kritik aushalte. – …because I endure a lot of criticism.
Leichter is the comparative form of the adjective/adverb leicht (easy/easily).
German usually forms the comparative by adding -er:
- leicht → leichter (easy → easier / easily → more easily)
- schnell → schneller (fast → faster)
- schön → schöner (beautiful → more beautiful)
Using mehr leicht is grammatically possible in some very special stylistic contexts, but it is not normal or natural here. You should use:
- Ich halte Kritik leichter aus. – I endure criticism more easily.
You could also say:
- Ich halte Kritik einfacher aus. – I endure criticism more easily (using einfacher, which is slightly more colloquial).
Wenn, als, and falls all can translate to when or if, but they’re used differently:
Wenn:
- For conditions (if)
- For repeated or general situations in the present/past (whenever/when)
Als:
- For single events in the past
- Not used for present/future conditions
Falls:
- Means in case / if – stresses that it’s only a possibility.
In this sentence:
- Wenn mein Selbstbewusstsein stark ist, halte ich Kritik leichter aus.
This describes a general condition / general rule:
- Whenever my self-confidence is strong → I can handle criticism more easily.
So wenn is correct.
Als would be wrong here, because this is not one specific past event.
Falls would sound like it’s a more hypothetical possibility, and would feel unusual in this context; you want a general truth, not a remote possibility.
The present tense here expresses a general rule:
- Wenn mein Selbstbewusstsein stark ist, halte ich Kritik leichter aus.
– Whenever my self-confidence is strong, I can more easily endure criticism.
This is similar to English using the present tense in factual conditionals:
- If my self-confidence is strong, I handle criticism more easily.
You can say:
- Wenn mein Selbstbewusstsein stark wäre, würde ich Kritik leichter aushalten.
This changes the meaning:
- ist / halte (present) → general fact or realistic situation.
- wäre / würde aushalten (Konjunktiv II) → hypothetical or unreal condition:
- If my self-confidence were strong (but it isn’t), I would endure criticism more easily.
So the original sentence is a neutral, general statement about how things work for you, not a hypothetical scenario.
The sentence is:
- Wenn mein Selbstbewusstsein stark ist, halte ich Kritik leichter aus.
Cases:
mein Selbstbewusstsein – nominative singular (subject of the subordinate clause)
- Selbstbewusstsein is neuter: das Selbstbewusstsein.
- In nominative neuter singular, the possessive mein stays mein (no extra ending).
ich – nominative singular (subject of the main clause).
Kritik – accusative singular (direct object; what I endure)
- Kritik is feminine: die Kritik.
- Feminine nouns have the same form in nominative and accusative (with or without article), so you don’t see a special ending here.
Structure:
- Subordinate clause: [Wenn] mein Selbstbewusstsein (Nom.) stark ist
- Main clause: ich (Nom.) halte Kritik (Akk.) leichter aus
Yes, you could, and it would be understood. The meaning is very similar:
- Wenn mein Selbstbewusstsein stark ist, halte ich Kritik leichter aus.
- Wenn ich ein starkes Selbstbewusstsein habe, halte ich Kritik leichter aus.
Nuances:
- mein Selbstbewusstsein stark ist focuses a bit more on the state/condition of your self-confidence.
- ich ein starkes Selbstbewusstsein habe sounds a bit more like possession (having a strong self-confidence as a quality).
But in everyday speech, these are very close in meaning, and both are acceptable.
In German (and English), Kritik / criticism is usually treated as an uncountable abstract noun when we talk about criticism in general:
- Ich halte Kritik leicht aus. – I easily tolerate criticism (in general).
- Er hat viel Kritik bekommen. – He received a lot of criticism.
If you want to talk about separate pieces of criticism, you could say:
- kritische Bemerkungen – critical remarks
- Kritikpunkte – points of criticism
But in this sentence, the idea is criticism as a general thing you receive from others, so Kritik in the singular, without an article, is the natural form.