There are many German verbs that consist of a rather common or basic verb combined with a prefix. Their meaning may then be somewhat or completely different from the verb they contain. You may have read our lessons about verbs related to gehen and verbs with holen. We also have overviews for sprechen and kaufen. Today, let's have a look at some verbs that stem from the verb laufen. 

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By itself, the verb laufen is sometimes synonymous with the translation of gehen as "to walk." However, it also means "to run," and can be used to describe a human or animal running, but also a machine that is "running." It is often used to describe something that is in progress, happening, in operation, or proceeding. Take a look at how the following sentences are translated:

Wir laufen durch die Straßen.

We walk through the streets.

Caption 39, Christina Stürmer: Wir leben den Moment

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Ja, und wie läuft's bei dir so in der Wache? Nein, sag bloß!

Yes, and how is it going with you at the station? No way!

Caption 46, Großstadtrevier: Von Monstern und Mördern

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Und das sind die drei Kriterien, wenn die gut laufen, dann läuft auch der Blindenfußball gut.

And these are the three criteria, if they go well, then blind football also goes well.

Caption 22, Blindenfußball Treffen nach Ton

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Die meisten kennen mich wahrscheinlich aus der Sendung „Der Bachelor“, die sehr erfolgreich auf RTL läuft.

Most of you probably know me from the series "Der Bachelor," which is having a very successful run on RTL.

Captions 11-12, Anja Polzer: Interview

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Sorry, das läuft auf meinem alten Laptop nicht. Da müssen wir zu dir.

Sorry, this won't run on my old laptop. We'll have to go to your place.

Caption 35, Die Pfefferkörner: Gerüchteküche

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And now for some related verbs. Let's begin with ablaufen, which can mean "to go," "to proceed," "to lapse," or "to expire." 

Bei manchen Leuten läuft's sogar komplett ohne Symptome ab.

For some people, it even runs its course completely without symptoms.

Caption 23, Coronavirus: Schutzmasken zum Selbermachen

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Jetzt werde ich euch erzählen, wie ein Tag in meinem Leben abläuft.

Now I will tell you how a day in my life goes.

Caption 16, Jenny erklärt: Zeitintervalle

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Deine Zeit ist gleich abgelaufen.

Your time will be up soon.

Caption 21, Küss mich, Frosch: Für immer Frosch?

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Among its many meanings, verb auslaufen can mean "to spill" or "to leak," but also "to run out" or "to peter out."

Die Ostalgie-Welle ist auch langsam ausgelaufen.

The wave of "Ostalgie" has also slowly petered out.

Caption 2, Der Trabi: Das Kultauto aus dem Osten

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Then there are the verbs verlaufen and sich verlaufen. As you can see, these have very different meanings!

Bis jetzt ist alles wirklich gut verlaufen.

Up until now, everything has really gone well.

Caption 7, Berufsleben: Probleme mit Mitarbeitern

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Du sagst, wir haben uns nie verlaufen.

You say we've never gotten lost.

Caption 21, Philipp Dittberner: Das ist dein Leben

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Further Learning
You can find many other verbs in this list, some of which are more common than others. You will find many of these on Yabla German as well. Try to make your own examples with the following verbs: davonlaufen, fortlaufen, entlaufen, and herumlaufen.