German Verbs - German Prefixes

German Prefixes

This is a general view of the most important German prefixes. The example is "legen" (to lay)

Prefix Verb Literally Translation
ab- legen to lay down to lay down
to abandon sth.
an- legen to lay by/at to attach sth.
to dock
auf- legen to lay up to apply
aus- legen to lay out to lay sth. out
be- legen to lay sth. on sth. to overlay
bei- legen to lay at/by to add
dar- legen to lay there to point sth. out
ein- legen to lay in to inlay
ent- legen dis-lay faraway, outlying
NOTE: entlegen is an adjective and not a verb!
er- legen to achieve-lay to kill/ to conclude successfully
ge- legen to be laid seated, situated, opportune
NOTE: gelegen is an adjective and not a verb!
hin- legen to lay there to put down
nach- legen to lay after to put some more of sth. on
nieder- legen to lay down to put down an object /
to lay down an office /
to lie down also: to go to sleep
über- legen to lay over to think about sth.
um- legen to lay around/over again to allocate, also: to kill
unter- legen to lay under to put under
ver- legen – to be shy / to lose
to edit (books, newspaper)
vor- legen to lay previous to sth. to bring sth. before so.
weg- legen to lay away to put away
wider- legen to lay against to disprove
zer- legen to lay sth. in pieces to dismantle
zu- legen to lay to sth. to put on / to buy something new
zusammen- legen to lay together to pool sth.

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