I wrote a post recently about verbs that change their meanings when you add prefixes to them. These can be very confusing for language learners, as they think they recognise a verb when it actually means something totally different. The post led to a question about whether a particular prefix made the verb separable or inseparable. I thought it’d be good to re-cap German prefixes so you know which prefixes are separable (trennbar) and which ones are inseparable (untrennbar).

First, let’s recap what ‘separable’ and ‘inseparable’ prefixes are.

A separable prefix is one where the prefix separates from the verb when put into a sentence. Take the verb aufhören – to stop (auf + hören). When this verb is in a sentence, you’d say Hör mit diese Blödheit auf – Stop (with) this stupidity. ‘Auf’ is a separable prefix and ‘aufhören’ is a separable verb.

An inseparable prefix is one where the prefix remains fixed to the verb when put into a sentence. Take the example verb zerstören (zer + stören). In a sentence, you would write the whole verb. To quote the Rammstein song, Ich muss zerstören – I need to destroy. ‘Zer’ is an inseparable prefix and zerstören is an inseparable verb.

Now you know what separable and inseparable prefixes are, here is a list of all of the separable and inseparable prefixes, with example verbs.

 

INSEPARABLE (UNTRENNBAR)

be-
besuchen – to visit (be + suchen, where suchen on its own means ‘to search’)

emp-
empfehlen – to recommend (emp + fehlen, where fehlen on its own means ‘to lack’)

ent-
entdecken – to discover (ent + decken, where decken on its own means ‘to cover’)

ge-
gefallen – to be pleasing (ge + fallen, where fallen on its own means ‘to fall’. This prefix is usually used in the past participle, or completely changes the root verb when added to it)

er-
ertrinken – to drown (er + trinken, where trinken on its own means ‘to drink’)

miss-
missbrauchen – to abuse (miss + brauchen, where brauchen on its own means ‘to need’)

ver-
verstehen – to understand (ver + stehen, where stehen on its own means ‘to stand’)

wider-
widerstehen – to resist (wider + stehen, where stehen on its own means ‘to stand’)

zer-
zerstören – to destroy (zer + stören, where stören on its own means ‘to disturb’)

 

SEPARABLE (TRENNBAR)

ab-
abnehmen (to remove/take off) “Ich nehme es ab” (I take it off)

an-
anschauen (to look at) “Ich schaue es an” (I look at it)

auf-
aufmachen (to open) “Ich mache es auf” (I open it)

aus-
ausschalten (to switch off) “Ich schalte das Licht aus” (I turn the light off)

bei-
beitreten (to join) “Ich trete bei” (I join)

mit-
mitmachen (to join in) “Ich mache mit” (I join in)

nach-
nachdenken (to think about) “Ich denke darüber nach” (I think about it)

weg-
wegnehmen (to take away) “Ich nehme es weg” (I take it away)

zusammen-
zusammenpassen (to fit together/be suited) “Wir passen gut zusammen” (We suit each other)

zurück-
zurückgehen (to go back) “Wir gehen zurück” (We go back)

statt-
stattfinden (to take place) “Es findet hier statt” (It takes place here)

vor-
vorschlagen (to suggest/propose) “Ich schlag dir was vor” (I suggest something to you)

zu-
zunehmen (to increase/gain weight) “Ich nehme zu” (I am gaining weight)

 

I hope this will help you to recognise separable and inseparable verbs/prefixes. Any questions or comments, let me know!

 

Bis bald,

 

Constanze