Dauern vs. nehmen
In German, both dauern and nehmen can relate to the concept of time, often translated as "to take". However, they are not interchangeable. They are used in different grammatical structures and focus on different aspects of duration. Dauern describes how long an event lasts, while nehmen often describes the time required or consumed by someone or something.
Dauern
A1The verb dauern is used to state the objective duration of an event, action, or process. The subject of the sentence is the thing that is taking up the time (e.g., the film, the journey, the meeting). It answers the question "Wie lange?" (How long?).
Der Film dauert ungefähr 90 Minuten.
(The movie takes about 90 minutes.)
Wie lange dauert die Fahrt zum Bahnhof?
(How long does the drive to the train station take?)
Die Besprechung hat länger als erwartet gedauert.
(The meeting took longer than expected.)
Die Bauarbeiten werden noch drei Monate dauern.
(The construction work will last for another three months.)
Der Heilungsprozess kann mehrere Wochen dauern.
(The healing process can take several weeks.)
Es dauert nur einen Moment.
(It will only take a moment.)
Nehmen
A2The verb nehmen is used when expressing the time that something requires or consumes. It often appears in the fixed phrase Zeit in Anspruch nehmen (to take up time). It is also used reflexively, sich Zeit nehmen, which means to deliberately not rush and take one's time to do something carefully.
Die Reparatur wird viel Zeit in Anspruch nehmen.
(The repair will take up a lot of time.)
Nimm dir Zeit und lies die Anweisungen sorgfältig durch.
(Take your time and read the instructions carefully.)
Der neue Kunde nimmt viel von meiner Aufmerksamkeit in Anspruch.
(The new client takes up a lot of my attention.)
Ich nehme mir eine Stunde für das Mittagessen.
(I am taking an hour for lunch.)
Diese Aufgabe kann mehr Zeit in Anspruch nehmen, als man denkt.
(This task can take up more time than one might think.)
Er hat sich für seine Entscheidung viel Zeit genommen.
(He took a lot of time for his decision.)
Summary
The core difference lies in the focus and sentence structure. Use dauern when the subject is the event itself and you are describing its objective duration (e.g., The flight takes three hours). Use nehmen when you are talking about time as a resource that is being used, consumed, or required, often in phrases like Zeit in Anspruch nehmen (to take up time) or sich Zeit nehmen (to take one's time).