Horst Huber (X) Apr 14, 2011:

Danke allseits. Beste Grüße!

oa_xxx (X) Apr 14, 2011:

Nein, Sie brauchen mir nicht sagen, was Sie selbst schreiben wuerden...
Hello Horst - your question is absolutely ok but it was this sentence that came across as pretty "schroff" ! and its hard to know what you mean by it - Loved ones is an absolutely standard expression as Nicole has rightly pointed out and explained. If you wanted examples of what EN speakers would write themselves in personal correspondence then I guess if I had a christmas card with "wishing you and your loved ones a happy christmas" or something printed on it, my personal message would then probably be something like "to you and yours" or "to you and your family" (friends of a friend not being relevant here) - so it does depend on context and tone etc. but loved ones fits and is the only alternative in many cases - finishing off a letter, for example, "with all the best to you and your loved ones," sounds fine to me.

John Hein-Hartmann Apr 14, 2011:

I totally agree with you, Orla.

oa_xxx (X) Apr 14, 2011:

If this is actually for an English (UK) audience I would probably leave out nests and adapt it more to UK practices - as other people said theyre not common in UK, even if available, not sure bout US, the hunting in the garden also never happened in my day but the idea is well-known so would leave that - what about just "easter treats" or "presents of sweets from friends and family" (or loved ones etc) instead of nests?? Less of a mouthful and the exact content isnt so important here imo - more the idea of lots of sweets and chocolate that ruin your teeth!

Nicole Schnell Apr 14, 2011:

Google ist keine linguistische Institution Aber was soll der Pastor bei der Beerdigung denn sonst sagen? "The survivors"? "Our loved ones" sind einfach Familie, Freunde und Menschen, die uns nahestehen, was sonst?

Horst Huber (X) Apr 14, 2011:

Ganz im Gegenteil, bitte um Verzeihung, daß meine Frage als "Angriff" erscheinen konnte! Nur, daß Karten und Google nicht notwendigerweise tatsächlichen Sprachgebrauch vermitteln. Ansonsten nichts für ungut!

Nicole Schnell Apr 14, 2011:

PS. An Horst Ich sprach selbstverständlich von vorgedruckten Grußkarten, die sich wunderbar im Netz finden lassen und daher ein ausgezeichnetes Beispiel für die Verwendung dieses Ausdrucks sind.

Nicole Schnell Apr 14, 2011:

@ Horst: Warum "was Sie selbst schreiben würden"? Nicht sehr höflich. Was hilft: einfach mal "You and your loved ones" in Anführungszeichen googeln und die mehr als 8,3 Millionen Einträge lesen. Oder sich im Werbefernsehen pro Abend mehr als zehn mal "your loved ones" anhören, ob es um Versicherungen, Lebensmittel oder was weiß ich geht. Ein persönlicher Angriff ist hier herzlich fehl am Platz.

Horst Huber (X) Apr 14, 2011:

Nicole Schnell, besten Dank. Nein, Sie brauchen mir nicht sagen, was Sie selbst schreiben würden.

Nicole Schnell Apr 13, 2011:

@ Horst "Loved ones" is indeed correct. Look at all the greeting cards - "Wishing you and your loved ones a happy (something)-Day". (While you are still alive and kicking). :-)

Horst Huber (X) Apr 13, 2011:

Said it before, repeat here, NOT a native speaker. I cannot banish the thought that "loved ones" are the "trauernde Familie" at the funeral. What would you in intimate corespondence actually say to refer to parents, siblings, grandparents etc. as a group? "Dearest" or "beloved" is what the minister says. But you? You are all excellent translators, any way to shorten wordy translation talk --- "the delicious nests of sweets from their dearest and nearest"?