"aufhören" means "to stop". But why? And what's the difference to "anhalten"? All that we'll find out in this article.
A fun look at the meanings of "anhalten", and why one word can be about stopping and continuing at the same time. Also: the difference to aufhören.
The core idea of this root was:
observing, watching, perceiving
It’s the origin of hören and to hear (which is acoustically perceiving, observing) and also of German schauen, which is about looking at.
The English brother of schauen, to show, shifted from mere seeing toward showing – first, showing what you’re seeing and then showing in the more general sense.
It’s also the origin of German schön, which was originally “something you like to watch” and of the English caution which comes from Latin and was about watching in a sense of being on guard.
Some English relatives:
