# Leute vs. Menschen



## dalila

Hallo, 
kann jemand mir sagen, was der Unterschied zwischen Menschen und Leute ist?
In einem Beitrag von einem Radio benutzt der Moderator das Wort Leute, aber tauscht er dann "Leute" gegen das Wort Menschen aus. Welches ist der Grund dafuer? In dem Beitrag geht es um Medizin (falls das hilfen sollte).
Das ist der Satz: lDie (Leute) Menschen haben große Schmerzen und...
Vielen Dank im Voraus.


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## Hutschi

Die Grundbedeutung ist gleich. In vielen Fällen sind die Formen austauschbar.
Von "Leute" gibt es keinen Singular. 
"Menschen" ist universeller. Es kann auch "Menschheit" bedeuten. "Leute" bilden meist eine kleinere Gruppe.

In einer Reihe von Zusammensetzungen mit "Menschen" kann man "Leute" nicht verwenden.

Menschenauflauf, Menschenrechte


Ich fühle folgenden Unterschied:
Ich mache das wegen der Leute: Ich mache das, damit die Leute besser von mir denken.
Ich mache das wegen der Menschen: Ich mache das, damit es den Menschen besser geht.


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## Sidjanga

*Leute *ist auch einfach alltäglicher: _Auf dem Konzert waren sehr viele Leute, aber ich kannte fast niemanden._ 
_Menschen _würde in diesem Kontext (fast?) etwas seltsam klingen.

_*Menschen *_wird eher vewendet, wenn es - auch nur im weitesten Sinne - um humanitäre oder "menschliche" Aspekte geht oder diese (etwas) betont werden sollen - wie in den unteren Beispielen von Hutschi, und ganz besonders natürlich bei dem Begriff _Menschenrechte_.


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## Hutschi

> "Ich habe_ (als Synchronsprecher)_ vielen Leuten meine Stimme gegeben ..." (Wunschbriefkasten, MDR)


 
Hier könnte man auch sagen "vielen Schauspielern", nicht aber "vielen Menschen".

(Ein weiteres Beispiel.)


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## Kevin Beach

Is it fair to say that *Mensch(en)* corresponds to the English "person(s)", whereas *Leute* corresponds to "people"?


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## Demurral

Kevin Beach said:


> Is it fair to say that *Mensch(en)* corresponds to the English "person(s)", whereas *Leute* corresponds to "people"?




Ich bin kein Muttersprachler, ich habe aber immer so gedacht. ^^
Könnte es jemand bitte erklären?


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## Sidjanga

Kevin Beach said:


> Is it fair to say that *Mensch(en)* corresponds to the English "person(s)", whereas *Leute* corresponds to "people"?


That may - to some (limited) extent - work as for _people/Leute_, but I reaally don't think it's as easy as that (I especially don't think you'll be able to find two reliable pairs of equivalents between these (or any other) two languages that'll work fine for any context).

_Menschen _can be _people, persons, men, humans_,..

It all depends on context, and very much so.
_
*people *smuggling - *Menschen*schmuggel
_
There often isn't a direct equivalent not even within a particular sentence or expression:

_indigenous *people *- Einheimisch*e*_


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## Hutschi

Kevin Beach said:


> Is it fair to say that *Mensch(en)* corresponds to the English "person(s)", whereas *Leute* corresponds to "people"?


 

In some cases, also "Personen" corresponds to English "persons".

"Personen" are a relative small group of people or some people with point of view as single persons. 

So you have three similar words: Menschen, Personen, Leute

In Englich you had also three, but "men" isn't considered anymore as meaning "Mensch" but "Mann", except in older scripts and in mankind.

If you want to translate "human being" it is "Mensch" (or "menschliches Wesen"). The plural "Menschliche Wesen" includes also hypothetical extraterestrials.


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## berndf

I think the main difference has been mentioned by Hutschi in his first post: To use the term _Leute_ it has to matter that there is a group (or crowd) of people. 



Kevin Beach said:


> Is it fair to say that *Mensch(en)* corresponds to the English "person(s)", whereas *Leute* corresponds to "people"?


Sounds good to me. Depending on context, I would, like Hutschi, also consider the translation _human(s)_ or _human being(s)_ for _Mensch(en)._


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## Sidjanga

berndf said:


> I think the main difference has been mentioned by Hutschi in his first post: To use the term _Leute_ it has to matter that there is a group (or crowd) of people. (...)


I am not so sure about that group aspect. 
For example, I don't see the group/crowd - and much less that it matters - in sentences like

_Viele Leute sehen lieber zu Hause fern als ins Kino zu gehen._
_Ich habe noch nicht viele Leute getroffen, die schon mal in Korea waren._

Here, you could easily substitute _Leute _with _Menschen_; it would just sound  less everyday (maybe a more personal or "human").


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## Hutschi

Sigianga said:


> _Viele Leute sehen lieber zu Hause fern als ins Kino zu gehen._
> _Ich habe noch nicht viele Leute getroffen, die schon mal in Korea waren._


In these sentences, you can omit it fully, too. This is another possibility:

_Viele sehen lieber zu Hause fern als ins Kino zu gehen._
_Ich habe noch nicht viele getroffen, die schon mal in Korea waren._

It is a set (Menge) rather than a crowd.


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## lrosa

As I understand it now, _Leute_ is a more general term than _Menschen_, as pointed out by Hutschi's example of the omission of "viele" in the 2 sentences given by Sigianga. So is it true to say that _Menschen_ places the emphasis on the people, the individuals, the humans, the beings, etc... while _Leute_ is just a common term that refers to "people", without needing to distinguish them from animals or anything else because it is such a common term referring to our automatized conception of "people"?


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## newg

lrosa said:


> As I understand it now, _Leute_ is a more general term than _Menschen_, as pointed out by Hutschi's example of the omission of "viele" in the 2 sentences given by Sigianga. So is it true to say that _Menschen_ places the emphasis on the people, the individuals, the humans, the beings, etc... while _Leute_ is just a common term that refers to "people", without needing to distinguish them from animals or anything else because it is such a common term referring to our automatized conception of "people"?


 
Yes


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## Suilan

I'd say Leute refers to a more specific group of people, usually a smaller group than Menschen.

-- Die Leute waren sehr freundlich zu mir. (Certain people at a certain place.)
-- Die Leute auf dem Konzert waren ...
-- Die Leute auf der Straße erkannten mich. (thinking of specific people)

In broader context, you'd use "Menschen." It usually refers to a larger, less specific group than Leute.

-- Die Menschen wollen endlich Klarheit. 
-- Die Menschen haben schon vor 1000 Jahren ...
-- Die Menschen können dort nicht mehr leben, weil es kein Wasser mehr gibt.
-- Die Menschen auf der Straße jubelten ihm zu. (could be anywhere, any city, any crowd of people)

Referring to an entire country/region/continent, both is possible, but Menschen seems to be preferred.

die Menschen in Deutschland -- 296000 hits
die Leute in Deutschland -- 19600

die Menschen in Europa -- 91700
die Leute in Europa -- 2460

die Menschen in Amerika -- 9470
die Leute in Amerika -- 1610

die Menschen in Asien -- 8690
die Leute in Asien -- 395


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## AGATHA2

Johann Nestroy (österreichischer Autor): "die Menschen sind gut, aber die Leut´sind schlecht " 

Es gibt auch diesen Unterschied: "Menschen" drückt mehr "Respekt" aus als Leute.
"Vor dem Haus stehen viele Menschen"
"Vor dem Haus stehen viele Leute"


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## lrosa

How would you say: I like people/I don't like people

Examples are the only way out of this, I'm thinking!


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## Frank78

lrosa said:


> How would you say: I like people/I don't like people
> 
> Examples are the only way out of this, I'm thinking!



Here I´d go for: "Ich mag Menschen", "Ich mag keine Menschen"

Since it´s a general statement about all people, not about a certain group.

If you for example would say: "I like *the* people in my sports club" it´s better to translate it with "Leute" - "Ich mag die Leute in meinem Sportverein"


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## Hutschi

The "set" aspect:

"Leute" is not used if there are very view.

Auf dem Platz standen zwei Menschen.

In a set with an unknown amout, both can be used:

Auf dem Platz standen mehrere Menschen.
Auf dem Platz standen mehrere Leute.

Auf dem Platz standen Menschen. (Several persons stand there.)
Auf dem Platz standen Leute. (A crowd of people stand there.)

In case of very many people, usually "Menschen" is used.

Auf der Erde leben viele Menschen.

---

"Ich mag die Leute in meinem Sportverein"         (abstract people)
"Ich mag die Menschen in meinem Sportverein" - You mark the human aspect. "Menschen" is often stressed. It means approximately "the group of good persons who behave human." If you stress "Menschen" very much, you mean a subset of special people of the club who behave human, in contrast to the rest.


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## Frank78

Noch was zum Nachlesen:

http://www.textlog.de/synonyme-leute-menschen-personen.html


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## Sidjanga

Hutschi said:


> The "set" aspect:
> 
> "Leute" is not used if there are very view.
> 
> Auf dem Platz standen zwei Menschen. (...)


Sorry to disagree, but that is in no way consistent with my experience. 

Especially in everyday speech, I would definitely use _zwei Leute_ here.

In addition to what has been mentioned earlier, with _Menschen_ that sentence falls also into the category of elevated style (at least to my ears)*, and I would expect to read it in a novel perhaps, or in a (more or less) religious/spiritual context - anywhere where it somehow matters that they are not just people, but "humans" (or at least "good" people).
But I would not normally expect to hear it in a casual, everyday conversation (I personally would actually be rather surprised to hear it there), apart from set phrases and - here too, of course - contexts where you want to stress the "human" aspect (something, or so it appears, seems to apply to the word _Menschen _in general [as opposed to _Leute_]).

Also, there are quite a few entries in Google with "zwei Leute". 
Maybe a(nother) regional difference?
_______________________________
* but it's probably never just about style, it certainly just sounds as though it were simply because the accentuation of the human aspect seldom matters much in everyday language usage
l


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## lrosa

I hope this isn't too much to ask, but does anyone have any thoughts on which version of Leute/Menshcen/Personen should be used for:

I stopped opening up to people -                                                        I guess "Menschen"
I know 2 people who have been to Japan -                                        "Leute"
They were the first 2 people in space -                                               "Menschen"
I don't like the people in my class -                                                     "Leute"
I like meeting new people -                                                                 "Menschen"
The people (strangers) I saw on the street looked at me strangely - "Menschen"
People are usually too polite to comment on my looks -                      "Menschen"
When I went inside, I found two people kissing -                                "Menschen"
There are many people who don't like sports -                                    "Leute"
Too many people never eat breakfast -                                               "Leute"


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## Frank78

lrosa said:


> I hope this isn't too much to ask, but does anyone have any thoughts on which version of Leute/Menshcen/Personen should be used for:
> 
> I stopped opening up to people -                                                        I guess "Menschen"
> I know 2 people who have been to Japan -                                        "Leute"
> They were the first 2 people in space -                                               "Menschen"
> I don't like the people in my class -                                                     "Leute"
> I like meeting new people -                                                                 "Menschen" - "Leute" works here as well
> The people (strangers) I saw on the street looked at me strangely - "Menschen" - Same here
> People are usually too polite to comment on my looks -                      "Menschen"
> When I went inside, I found two people kissing -                                "Menschen"
> There are many people who don't like sports -                                    "Leute" - "Menschen" is possible, too
> Too many people never eat breakfast -                                               "Leute"  I´d prefer "Menschen" here. Although I wouldn´t say "Leute" is absolutly wrong.


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## Kevin Beach

Thank you for your replies, everybody. It's much clearer now.


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## lrosa

Vielen Dank, Frank


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