called txDictionary > zer verbs
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zerbrochenPreterite (written past): zerbrachsee details >1.
- to break into parts
- (Focus is on damage. Notable combination for figurative contexts is "zerbrechen an+Dat." . If you "zerbrechen" something, the helper verb is "haben", if something "zerbrechen" by itself, then the helper is "sein".)
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zerdrücktPreterite (written past): zerdrücktesee details >1.
- to crush into parts
- Perfect (spoken past): ist zerfallenPreterite (written past): zerfielsee details >1.
- to fall apart, to decay
- (For atoms, substances and buildings. Also works for food, but it has a negative touch. For really tender meat, "zergehen" is the better word.)
- Perfect (spoken past): ist zerflossenPreterite (written past): zerflosssee details >1.
- to "flow apart"
- (Think butter in a pan or chocolate on the tongue.)
- Perfect (spoken past): ist zergangenPreterite (written past): zergingsee details >1.
- to melt
- (For chocolate and other food melting on the tongue. Sounds rather delicate. NOT for melting snow.)
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zerkratztPreterite (written past): zerkratztesee details >1.
- to scratch, to claw
- (In the sense of "doing damage" and it's more than just one scratch. So it's like if your cat claws up all my forearm just because I petted her wrong. The entitlement is strong in my cat. )
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zerlassenPreterite (written past): zerließsee details >1.
- to melt
- (Pretty much ONLY used for slowly melting butter in a pan. Literally "to let apart".)
- Perfect (spoken past): ist zerlaufenPreterite (written past): zerliefsee details >1.
- to melt
- (Pretty much only used for butter or chocolate or similar that "melts" on the tongue. NOT for snow or icecream, which are actually melting. The core theme here is "run apart".)
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zerlegtPreterite (written past): zerlegtesee details >1.
- to take apart, to disassemble
- (IN contexts where you'll have many small pieces. And for animals, if you're a hunter or butcher. Colloquially also used for someone's arguments or theories.)
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zermürbtPreterite (written past): zermürbtesee details >1.
- to wear someone down, to attrit
- ("mürbe" means "tender, crumbly" and comes from baking. "zermürben" is pretty commonly used for intense situations that slowly wear you down - make you "crumble", if you will.)
- Perfect (spoken past): ist zerplatztPreterite (written past): zerplatztesee details >1.
- to burst apart
- (Pretty much the same as "platzen" but with a little more focus on "into parts".)
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zerredetPreterite (written past): zerredetesee details >1.
- to "talk apart"
- (Destroy something by talking. Think of destroying a good idea by talking about the negatives too much.)
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zerrissenPreterite (written past): zerrisssee details >1.
- to rip apart
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zerschlagenPreterite (written past): zerschlugsee details >1.
- to smash into bits
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zerschmettertPreterite (written past): zerschmettertesee details >1.
- to shatter, to smite
- (Sounds quite dramatic.)
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zerschnittenPreterite (written past): zerschnittsee details >1.
- to cut (into pieces)
- (The focus here is on splitting apart. It sounds a bit destructive.)
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zerschriebenPreterite (written past): zerschriebsee details >1.
- to destroy through writing
- (Very rare. A word for the "feuilleton". Mainly used for picking apart ideas or thoughts.)
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zersetztPreterite (written past): zersetztesee details >1.
- to corrode, to decompose, to putrefy, to decay
- (The core idea is to "disassemble" a material. If the material decomposes by itself, you'll need a self reference "sich zersetzen". Sounds a bit negative/destructive overall. Also used figuratively for corroding forces in a team, for example.)
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zerstäubtPreterite (written past): zerstäubtesee details >1.
- to sputter, to spray, to nebulize
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zerstörtPreterite (written past): zerstörtesee details >
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zerstrittenPreterite (written past): zerstrittsee details >1.
- to have a falling out
- (Usually for good. Here, the self reference is a must have unlike for "streiten" where it's optional.)
Opposite (closest): versöhnen (mit) - Perfect (spoken past): hat zerteiltPreterite (written past): zerteiltesee details >1.
- to split into parts
- ((literally))
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zertretenPreterite (written past): zertratsee details >1.
- to crush
- (Kicking something into pieces.)
- Perfect (spoken past): hat zerworfenPreterite (written past): zerwarfsee details >1.
- to throw to pieces
- (Not very common in practice.)
Here's a quick overview with translations. For family, examples and more check the details.
