palavern

to chatter, to talk at length about nothing

verb pa-LAH-vern Rare

Origin: from Portuguese 'palavra' (word), via colonial trade contact

Usage Note

palavern carries a mildly dismissive tone, implying someone is talking too much without getting to the point. It differs from plaudern (to chat pleasantly) in that it implies wasted time. Common in colloquial German.

Examples

"Statt das Problem zu lösen, haben sie stundenlang palavert."

Natural Translation

Instead of solving the problem, they chattered for hours.

Literal Translation

Instead the problem to solve, have they hours-long chattered.

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