Dictionary > ab verbs
- Perfect (spoken past): hat abgeändertPreterite (written past): änderte absee details >1.
- to modify, to alter
- (Make small changes or adjustments in a bigger whole. Think of changing a route slightly or shifting around a few slides in a presentation.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgearbeitetPreterite (written past): arbeitete ab1.
- to work, to get done
- (For a heap of work that you slowly "ablate" through work. )
How useful:see details >3.- to wear oneself out with working
- ("sich+Acc abarbeiten an+Dat" - fixed phrasing for the idea of putting a lot of energy into a difficult and maybe futile endeavors. )
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgebautPreterite (written past): baute absee details >
- Perfect (spoken past): hat abgebissenPreterite (written past): biss absee details >
- Perfect (spoken past): hat abbekommenPreterite (written past): bekam ab1.
- to get a share
- ("etwas abbekommen von" - sounds a bit clumsy and needy, so don't use it in a professional business context.)
How useful:2.- to get hit
- (Same idea as before, only that now you get a share of something you didn't want. Think of someone throwing mud at party. )
How useful:see details >3.- to (manage to) get off
- (The idea is that you're succesfully trying to get something of from somewhere. Think of a sticker from a car. )
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abbestelltPreterite (written past): bestellte absee details >
- Perfect (spoken past): hat abgebogenPreterite (written past): bog absee details >
- Perfect (spoken past): hat abgebildetPreterite (written past): bildete absee details >
- Perfect (spoken past): hat abgebundenPreterite (written past): band absee details >3.
- to put on a tourniquet, to secure
- (Put on a pressure bandage or tourniquet. You "bind off" that body part or artery.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgeblasenPreterite (written past): blies ab1.
- to blow off
- (ONLY for literally blowing an object off from somewhere. SUPER rare!!)
How useful:see details >2.- to cancel, to call off
- (Colloquial phrase for cancelling an event or project.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): ist abgeblättertPreterite (written past): blätterte absee details >
- Perfect (spoken past): ist abgebliebenPreterite (written past): blieb absee details >2.
- to be
- (Pretty much only in questions for the location of an object like "Wo ist ... abgeblieben?")
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgebrochenPreterite (written past): brach ab1.
- to abort
- (In the sense of "stopping an ongoing process". NOT for abortions in context of pregnancy.)
How useful:see details > - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgebremstPreterite (written past): bremste absee details >1.
- to brake
- (Sounds a bit more sudden than "bremsen" but the difference is mostly based on what's idiomatic in a context.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): ist abgebranntPreterite (written past): brannte absee details >1.
- to burn down
- (Not for burning something completely, but rather burning to the "foundation". Can be a building or an incence stick. If you "abbrennen" something, the spoken past goes with "haben". If something "abbrennen" by itself, it goes with "sein".)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgebrachtPreterite (written past): brachte absee details >1.
- to talk sb out of sth
- ("jemanden (Acc) von etwas (Dative) abbringen); always needs to come with the von-part.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgebuchtPreterite (written past): buchte absee details >1.
- to debit
- (Lit.: "to book off" - it's when some other party draws money from your account. NOT for you withdrawing cash at an ATM.)
How useful:Opposite (closest): überweisen - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgedanktPreterite (written past): dankte absee details >1.
- to demit, to abdicate
- (The formal term for ruler officially stepping back. Can be a king but also a government. Sounds big. Für single politicians, "zurücktreten" is the better choice.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgedecktPreterite (written past): deckte ab1.
- to cover, put a cover over
- (so that others can’t see it or so that it’s away from the air or the rain)
How useful:see details > - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgedichtetPreterite (written past): dichtete absee details >
- Perfect (spoken past): hat abgedrehtPreterite (written past): drehte absee details >
- Perfect (spoken past): ist abgedriftetPreterite (written past): driftete absee details >1.
- to drift of, to get carried away
- (Works in the literal sense of a piece of wood drifting in a stream, but the main use is for going of on a tangent in thoughts or a conversation.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hatPreterite (written past):see details >1.
- to print
- (With a focus on the fact that it'll be published. Think of a juicy celebrity photo and the editors are debating whether they should print it.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgedrücktPreterite (written past): drückte absee details >2.
- to pay money
- ("abdrücken (für)" - very colloquial and usually in contexts where you think something is quite a lot of money.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat aberkanntPreterite (written past): erkannte absee details >1.
- to revoke, to abjudicate, to strip
- (Officially taking a title or privilege from someone. Not necessarily the direct opposite of "anerkennen" because that one is more about accepting reality.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgeerntetPreterite (written past): erntete absee details >1.
- to harvest, to reap
- (Slightly technical term that includes the idea of completion. So you harvest a field or tree completely. )
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): ist abgefahrenPreterite (written past): fuhr ab1.
- to start driving
- (With a focus in leaving. Often used for trains leaving a station. For starting your car ride, "losfahren" is the better choice.)
How useful:2.- to dig, to really like
- ("abfahren auf+Acc" - quite colloquial and not easy to use idiomatically, because it doesn't always work.)
How useful:4.- to drive along
- (ONLY in the sense of driving a full course of something, usually in a context of some sort of inspection.)
How useful:see details >5.- to drive down
- (For mountains and hills and primarily used in context of biking or skiing.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): ist abgefallenPreterite (written past): fiel ab3.
- to come out of, to be yielded
- (Mainly for financial gains or other compensations. The benefits are what does the "abfallen".)
How useful:see details >4.- to fall off
- (Something literally falling off of something. Think of a bumper of a car, for example. Also for figurative loads that fall off of you. If the focus is on hitting the floor, then "runterfallen" is the better choice.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgefangenPreterite (written past): fing absee details >
- Perfect (spoken past): hat abgefärbtPreterite (written past): färbte ab1.
- to bleed into
- (In the sense of a colored item "sharing" its color with other things. Think of a new shirt that might ruin your clothes if washed together.)
How useful:see details >2.- to rub off on, to influence
- ("abfärben auf+Acc" - a figurative use where a person's character or behavior starts influencing others to behave the same way.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgefedertPreterite (written past): federte absee details >1.
- to cushion, to absorb (a shock)
- (Softening an impact. Also used figuratively. )
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgefeiertPreterite (written past): feierte absee details >
- Perfect (spoken past): hat abgefundenPreterite (written past): fand ab1.
- to pay off, to compensate
- (Usually used in the context of severance payments for jobs)
How useful:see details >2.- to make peace with
- („sich+Acc abfinden mit“ - ONLY in the sense of getting to terms with a situation. NOT making peace with someone)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): ist abgeflogenPreterite (written past): flog ab1.
- to fly off
- (In the sense of being blown off by pressure. Think of a lid of a bottle. NOT for a hat being blown off by the wind.)
How useful:see details >2.- to depart
- (For planes. The verb "starten" is more idiomatic, but the noun "der Abflug" is pretty common. )
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): ist abgeflossenPreterite (written past): floss absee details >1.
- to flow away, out
- (Primarily for water that is "stuck" somewhere (sink or low area of land) but it's also used in a financial context for funds or liquidity.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgefragtPreterite (written past): fragte absee details >1.
- to ask, to question, to quiz
- (In the sense of running through a list of questions. Mostly used in the context of practicing with someone for an exam)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgegebenPreterite (written past): gab ab1.
- to give a share
- ("abgeben von" - usually for small scale things like sharing a piece of your pizza)
How useful:2.- to hand over, to turn in
- (For items that you "turn in", like a phone at the door of a yoga retreat. Also for some borrowed things like a bike or a car. And for roles and responsibilities.)
How useful:3.- to be, to make for
- ("etwas+Acc abgeben" - Colloquial phrase for objects and people doing a surprisingly good job in a function that they weren't made for.)
How useful:see details >4.- to deal with, to occupy oneself with
- ("sich+Acc abgeben mit" - Usually used in the negative, either for tasks you don't want to deal with or people you (don't) want to get involved with.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): ist abgegangenPreterite (written past): ging ab2.
- to go crazy/wild
- (for example people dancing or throwing a fit, but also for songs that are really energetic)
How useful:4.- happen, take place
- (Quite common colloquial option for "to happen". Also used to ask "What's up?")
How useful:see details >5.- to be lacking from
- ("jemandem abgehen" - more common in the South of Germany)
How useful: - see details >Perfect (spoken past): hat abgewonnenPreterite (written past): gewann ab
- Perfect (spoken past): hat abgewöhntPreterite (written past): gewöhnte absee details >1.
- to break a habit, to stop
- ("sich (Dativ) abgewöhnen"... literally once used to be "to wean off")
How useful:Opposite (closest): angewöhnen (sich+Dative) - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgegossenPreterite (written past): goss absee details >
- Perfect (spoken past): hat abgeglichenPreterite (written past): glich absee details >1.
- to square, to align, to check for matches
- (Comparing two things to see if they align like they're supposed to.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgegrenztPreterite (written past): grenzte absee details >1.
- to separate from, to delineate, to set apart
- (The core idea is consciously creating or emphasizing a boundary to clearly distinguish A from B. Also often used reflexively "sich+Acc abgrenzen")
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgegucktPreterite (written past): guckte absee details >1.
- to crib, to peek
- (The idea is "to learn or find out by watching someone". The self reference needs to be there and it's in Dative. In South Germany, also with "schauen" instead of "gucken")
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgehabtPreterite (written past): hatte ab1.
- to get a piece/share
- (Colloquial, mostly used to ask if you can have a piece or state that you'd like to have a share. Not used to talk about actually getting one. Pretty much always with a modal verb and virtually never alone in pure present or past tense.)
How useful:see details >2.- to (not) like, to (not) stand
- (Only in combination with "können", very colloquial. )
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgehacktPreterite (written past): hackte absee details >
- Perfect (spoken past): hat abgehaktPreterite (written past): hakte ab1.
- to tally, to check off
- (To put a check mark behind something. Mostly used in figurative contexts for stuff that was on the agenda. NOT used for checking and actual test.)
How useful:see details >2.- to forget
- (In a sense of "Forget about it, not gonna happen". The idea is that you check it off instead of waiting forever.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgehaltenPreterite (written past): hielt absee details >
- Perfect (spoken past): hat abgehandeltPreterite (written past): handelte absee details >1.
- to fully discuss a topic
- (Mostly in context of a monologue or text, not for an engaging conversation among friends.)
How useful: - Perfect (spoken past): hat abgehangen/abgehängtPreterite (written past): hing ab/hängte ab1.
- to depend
- ("abhängen von" ... actually, this is a literal translation because the Latin "pendere" meant "to hang". ge-form is "abgehangen" but the verb is usually used in the real past, so "hing ab")
How useful:2.- to lose a pursuer
- ("jemanden abhängen" - works for actual car chases as well as in a figurative sense of leaving the competition behind. ge-form is "abgehängt".)
How useful:see details >
Here's a quick overview with translations. For family, examples and more check the details.