Dictionary > verbs

Here's a quick overview with translations. For family, examples and more check the details.

(d)raufgeben
((he)rauf verb)
hat raufgegeben
gab rauf

1.
to give upward

(The literal meaning of handing an object upward. Think of handing a screw driver to someone on a ladder. "hochgeben" is more idiomatic overall, I think.)

Opposite (closest): runtergeben

2.
to put on top of

(Can be "draufgeben" or "raufgeben". Think of asking an ice cream vendor if they can add some chocolate sirupe on top. Sounds a bit formal, though and "(d)raufmachen" is the more common choice.)

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(d)raufkriegen
((he)rauf verb)
hat raufgekriegt
kriegte rauf

1.
to get up

(In the sense of managing to move something up somewhere. Think of moving a heavy couch.)

2.
to get on top

(Very colloquial. Used in context of getting a topping on your food.)

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(d)raufsteigen
((he)rauf verb)
ist raufgestiegen
stieg rauf

1.
to get on (it), to climb on (it)

(Getting or climbing onto a thing that has been established before. Can be a simple table or a bike. Rare for a mountain. More common in the sense of "stepping on", but that's regional. Either "rauf-" or "drauf-" but pretty much never "herauf-".)

Opposite (closest): runtersteigen

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(d)rüberlaufen
((he)rüber verb)
ist rübergelaufen
lief rüber

1.
to walk across

(Think of a bridge. With "rüber", the focus is a bit more on A to B, with "drüber" it's on being on it while crossing. But that is some C-Level nuance.)

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(d)rüberstellen
((he)rüber verb)
hat rübergestellt
stellte rüber

1.
to put something over there

(ONLY in the literal sense of putting an object from one "side" to another. Think of putting a chair over into the living room or moving the mirror out of the way, or something.)

2.
to put over/above

("drüberstellen" - Literally putting something over something. Think of a table over a door in the floor, for example. Can also be "rüberstellen" but "drüberstellen" is more common, because it's about the resulting position, not the motion.)

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(d)runtersetzen
(he(runter) verb)
hat runtergesetzt
setzte runter

1.
to sit down

(In the sense of switching seating places from somewhere up to down. Think of someone sitting on a table then switching to the floor. Usually used with a self reference - "sich+Acc runtersetzen".)

Opposite (closest): hochsetzen

2.
to reduce in price

(Especially "runtergesetzt" is pretty common in daily life conversations. )

Opposite (closest): hochsetzen

3.
to sit down under it

(In the literal sense of taking a seat under something. Like, think of a tree during a rainfall. Usually used reflexively - "sich+Acc druntersetzen". )

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(da)hintersteigen
(hinter (sep))
ist hintergestiegen
stieg hinter

1.
to climb to the rear

(Technically, it can mean that, but I doubt you'll see it in real life any time soon. Maybe for climbing to the backseat of a car from the front.)

2.
to understand something

("dahintersteigen" - the "da" often gets split off and moved elsewhere. Pretty similar to "durchsteigen", but this one is more about one particular "mystery". Think of a magical trick that you can't understand how it's done.)

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(dr)unterziehen
(unter (sep))
hat untergezogen
zog unter

1.
to put something underneath

("sich^+Dat etwas unterziehen" - in the sense of clothes. Both "runterziehen" and "drunterziehen" work, but "runterziehen" sounds a bit weird.)

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(he)rausbekommen
((he)raus verb)
hat rausbekommen
bekam raus

1.
to get out

(In the literal sense of managing to get something out of somewhere.)

Opposite (closest): reinbekommen

2.
to find out

(Usually implies a big of digging or at least some sort of secret.)

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(he)raussteigen
((he)raus verb)
ist rausgestiegen
stieg raus

1.
to climb out (to rise out)

(Super literal and barely ever used, except in epic contexts. That's why it's usually also with "her-" and not just "r-". Maybe think of a queen slowly leaving a pool. For most contexts, "rausklettern" is more idiomatic.)

Opposite (closest): reinsteigen

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(he)rumspielen
((he)rum verb)
hat rumgespielt
spielte rum

1.
to play around

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(he)rumziehen
((he)rum verb)
ist rumgezogen
zog rum

1.
to move around

(Either moving around town with friends, or in the sense of moving from settlement to settlement. Think of a circus for example. Though in the latter context, "umherziehen" is more idiomatic because.... reasons #reasonsarethebest)

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(he)runterkommen
(he(runter) verb)
ist runtergekommen
kam runter

1.
to come down

(Works in a factual sense of "going to a lower altitude" but also for coming down from some sort of "trip", be it from stress, anger or drugs. For numbers, "runtergehen" is the more common choice.)

Opposite (closest): raufkommen

2.
to get run down

(The adjective "heruntergekommen" is more common.)

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(her)vorgucken
(vor verb)
hat vorgeguckt
guckte vor

1.
to peek out, to stick out

(An object peeking out from a cover. Think of a unicorn trying to hide behind a bush, but the horn sticks out.)

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(her)vorholen
(vor verb)
hat vorgeholt
holte vor

1.
to bring out, to take out

(Take out something you had in your pockets (or personality). "hervorholen" is more probably a bit more common.)

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(sich) ernähren (von)
(er verb)
hat ernährt
ernährte

1.
to feed, to nurture, to nourish

(ONLY for food. Not in figurative contexts)

2.
to eat

("sich+Acc ernähren von" - Sounds a bit technical but still, it's fairly common in daily life, especially in context of special diets.)

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abändern
(ab verb)
hat abgeändert
änderte ab

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.)

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abarbeiten
(ab verb)
hat abgearbeitet
arbeitete ab

1.
to work, to get done

(For a heap of work that you slowly "ablate" through work. )

2.
to work off

(Paying a debt through work.)

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. )

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abbauen
(ab verb)
hat abgebaut
baute ab

1.
to take down, to deconstruct

(methodically remove something that was built, like a stage or a tent)

Opposite (closest): aufbauen

2.
to decompose, to reduce, to break down

(for substances and energies)

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abbeißen
(ab verb)
hat abgebissen
biss ab

1.
to bite off, to take a bite

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abbekommen
(ab verb)
hat abbekommen
bekam ab

1.
to get a share

("etwas abbekommen von" - sounds a bit clumsy and needy, so don't use it in a professional business context.)

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. )

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. )

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abbestellen
(ab verb)
hat abbestellt
bestellte ab

1.
to cancel

(ONLY for subscriptions where something is sent to you - either mail or a newsletter. Does NOT work for Netflix, for example.)

Opposite (closest): bestellen

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abbiegen
(ab verb)
hat abgebogen
bog ab

1.
to turn

(in the sense of changing direction in traffic)

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abbilden (auf)

(ab verb)
hat abgebildet
bildete ab

1.
to depict

(Capture in pics, sounds a bit formal)

2.
to map, to transform

(In the mathematical sense)

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abbinden
(ab verb)
hat abgebunden
band ab

1.
to tie off, to untie

(Pretty much only in the context of losing the leash or a dog from a tree. Most other contexts will be "losbinden".)

Opposite (closest): anbinden

2.
to bind, to thicken

(For binding a sauce!!)

3.
to put on a tourniquet, to secure

(Put on a pressure bandage or tourniquet. You "bind off" that body part or artery.)

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abblasen
(ab verb)
hat abgeblasen
blies ab

1.
to blow off

(ONLY for literally blowing an object off from somewhere. SUPER rare!!)

2.
to cancel, to call off

(Colloquial phrase for cancelling an event or project.)

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abblättern

(ab verb)
ist abgeblättert
blätterte ab

1.
to peel off, to flake off

(Pretty much only used for paint.)

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abbleiben
(ab verb)
ist abgeblieben
blieb ab

1.
to stay/remain off

(in the sense of "not attached")

2.
to be

(Pretty much only in questions for the location of an object like "Wo ist ... abgeblieben?")

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abbrechen
(ab verb)
hat abgebrochen
brach ab

1.
to abort

(In the sense of "stopping an ongoing process". NOT for abortions in context of pregnancy.)

2.
to break off

(in the literal sense of breaking something off of something)

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abbremsen
(ab verb)
hat abgebremst
bremste ab

1.
to brake

(Sounds a bit more sudden than "bremsen" but the difference is mostly based on what's idiomatic in a context.)

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abbrennen
(ab verb)
ist abgebrannt
brannte ab

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".)

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abbringen (von)

(ab verb)
hat abgebracht
brachte ab

1.
to talk sb out of sth

("jemanden (Acc) von etwas ^(Dative) abbringen); always needs to come with the von-part.)

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abbuchen
(ab verb)
hat abgebucht
buchte ab

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.)

Opposite (closest): überweisen

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abdecken

(ab verb)
hat abgedeckt
deckte ab

1.
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)

2.
to cover

(for topics)

3.
to remove a roof

(Think hurricane ;))

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abdichten
(ab verb)
hat abgedichtet
dichtete ab

1.
to seal

(A leakage of some kind.. NOT for sealing documents.)

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abdrehen
(ab verb)
hat abgedreht
drehte ab

1.
to turn away

(For boats and planes only)

2.
to turn off

(For water and colloquially also electricity. )

3.
to screw off

(For lids. Rarely actually used.)

4.
to wrap up

(In the context of finishing filming a movie.)

5.
to go crazy

(Colloquial, often in a positive sense.)

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abdrucken
(ab verb)
hat

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.)

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abdrücken

(ab verb)
hat abgedrückt
drückte ab

1.
to pull the trigger

2.
to pay money

("abdrücken (für)" - very colloquial and usually in contexts where you think something is quite a lot of money.)

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abernten
(ab verb)
hat abgeerntet
erntete ab

1.
to harvest, to reap

(Slightly technical term that includes the idea of completion. So you harvest a field or tree completely. )

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abfahren
(ab verb)
ist abgefahren
fuhr ab

1.
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.)

2.
to dig, to really like

("abfahren auf+Acc" - quite colloquial and not easy to use idiomatically, because it doesn't always work.)

3.
to drive off

(In the sense of leaving a highway.)

Opposite (closest): auffahren

4.
to drive along

(ONLY in the sense of driving a full course of something, usually in a context of some sort of inspection.)

5.
to drive down

(For mountains and hills and primarily used in context of biking or skiing.)

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abfallen
(ab verb)
ist abgefallen
fiel ab

1.
to decrease, to drop, to decline

(For certain metrics like quality, energy, performance and voltage, but it's overall pretty rare. You need to know the idiomatic phrasings.)

Opposite (closest): ansteigen

2.
to descend, to slope down

(For terrain only. And it's what the terrain does, not what you do on the terrain. )

Opposite (closest): ansteigen

3.
to come out of, to be yielded

(Mainly for financial gains or other compensations. The benefits are what does the "abfallen".)

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.)

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abfangen

(ab verb)
hat abgefangen
fing ab

1.
to intercept

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abfärben
(ab verb)
hat abgefärbt
färbte ab

1.
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.)

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.)

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abfedern
(ab verb)
hat abgefedert
federte ab

1.
to cushion, to absorb (a shock)

(Softening an impact. Also used figuratively. )

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abfeiern

(ab verb)
hat abgefeiert
feierte ab

1.
to party really hard

(kind of slang)

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abfinden
(ab verb)
hat abgefunden
fand ab

1.
to pay off, to compensate

(Usually used in the context of severance payments for jobs)

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)

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abfliegen
(ab verb)
ist abgeflogen
flog ab

1.
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.)

2.
to depart

(For planes. The verb "starten" is more idiomatic, but the noun "der Abflug" is pretty common. )

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abfließen

(ab verb)
ist abgeflossen
floss ab

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.)

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abfragen
(ab verb)
hat abgefragt
fragte ab

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)

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abgeben
(ab verb)
hat abgegeben
gab ab

1.
to give a share

("abgeben von" - usually for small scale things like sharing a piece of your pizza)

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.)

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.)

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.)

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