At one point, we wrote a lesson on the difference between eröffnen and öffnen. The verb öffnen is basically what it sounds like, while the verb eröffnen can also be used with non-physical entities that can be "opened," as well as something that is established or instituted.
When it comes to closing something, you probably know the word schließen. And just as aufmachen can substitute for öffnen, zumachen is another verb used to talk about closing something.
Jetzt schließe ich meinen Koffer.
Now, I'll close my suitcase.
Caption 22, Christiane: fährt in den Urlaub
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Die Polizei sagt, er solle seinen Kofferraum aufmachen.
The police officer says he should open his trunk.
Caption 4, Sabine erzählt Witze: Die Pinguine
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Wenn keine Tür da ist, kann man sie auch nicht zumachen.
If there is no door, you can't close it either.
Caption 26, Piggeldy und Frederick: Haus
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That is all relatively simple, but when it comes to locking and unlocking something like a door, there are many more verbs you can use, such as aufschließen, zuschließen, verschließen, and abschließen. The first two are similar to aufmachen and zumachen, but would refer to something that is shut very securely or locked. You may know the verb abschließen as "to finish" or "to conclude," but it can also mean "to lock up." Interestingly, aufgeschlossen is also an adjective used to describe a person being "open" or "receptive."
Frankreich plant nachzuziehen und auch London will aufschließen.
France plans to follow suit and London wants to open [its financial markets] up as well.
Caption 41, Frankfurt wird Handelszentrum für die chinesische Währung Yuan
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Die Schachtel ist total sicher verschlossen.
The box is completely and securely shut.
Caption 58, The Simple Physics: Schrödingers Katze
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Also, die Leute sind sehr aufgeschlossen.
Well, the people are very receptive.
Caption 7, Eva Croissant: Interview
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It then gets even more specific, with verbs like entriegeln and entsperren, which could also mean "unlatch" or "unbolt."
Maik gibt den vierstelligen Code ein und entriegelt das Schloss.
Maik enters the four-digit code and unlocks the lock.
Caption 28, Fußballspieler Maik Franz: "Call a Bike"
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Further Learning
You can find many examples of these verbs on Yabla German, which is the best way to understand the nuances in their meaning. You can also look up the list of possible translations for each verb with an online dictionary like leo.org to get a sense of this as well. While you're at it, consider aufsperren and zusperren, two additional verbs more often used in Southern Germany. Based on the other verbs you have learned, what do you think these mean?
Like in English, there is more than one way to construct sentences about the future in German. This week, we’ll take a look at the two options for this.
Sometimes, you may notice that what at first glance looks like the present tense in German is translated with either the present continuous, a "going to" + infinitive construction, or the "will"-future in English. When you see this, it’s best to look at the whole sentence, where you will likely find clues that tell you that the action isn't actually occurring yet and will take place momentarily or in the near or distant future. Even though there are sentences that use the present tense with future meaning in English (an example would be "They arrive this evening"), it is much less common. Have a look at the following examples:
Und jetzt gehen wir in die Werbung.
And now we'll go to commercial.
Caption 22, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Bayern
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Wenn es so weitergeht, dann können wir bald Schlitten fahren.
If it continues like this, we'll soon be able to go sledding.
Caption 28, Deutsch mit Eylin: Das Wetter
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Im Zoo waren wir gestern, heute gehen wir ins Schwimmbad.
We were at the zoo yesterday. Today we're going to the swimming pool.
Caption 14, Sabine erzählt Witze: Die Pinguine
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Heute lernen wir die Zahlen von eins bis tausend.
Today we're going to learn the numbers from one to a thousand.
Caption 5, Deutsch mit Eylin: Zahlen und die Grundrechenarten
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You may be thinking, "What about the verb werden?" Indeed, the construction werden + infinitive is also used to express something that has yet to happen, especially to emphasize the fact that it will happen in the future or express that it's still not 100% certain.
Ich werde mir etwas zu essen und zu trinken aussuchen.
I'm going to choose something to eat and drink.
Caption 9, Abendessen: mit Marko
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Und keine Sorge, du wirst mich hier nie wieder sehen!
And don't worry, you'll never see me here again!
Caption 51, Heidi: Ladenverbot
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Sie wird sich Sorgen machen, wenn sie nichts von mir hört.
She will worry if she doesn't hear anything from me.
Caption 29, Die Wohngemeinschaft: Besuch
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Auf die Suppe werden wir jetzt noch die Croutons und die angebratenen Zwiebeln draufmachen.
Now we're going to add the croutons and the fried onions to the soup.
Caption 69, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Hessen
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Oh, ihr werdet in einer halben Stunde noch besser verstehen.
Oh, you will understand even better in half an hour.
Caption 19, Deutschkurs in Tübingen: Verben mit Akkusativ
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Hier werden sie Tieren begegnen, die sonst nirgendwo in der Deutschen Bucht leben.
Here they will encounter animals that live nowhere else in the German Bight.
Caption 20, Abenteuer Nordsee: Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen
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Further Learning
You will find many similar examples on Yabla to learn from. Be sure to also check out our past lesson on werden, and review how it's used in its meaning "to become" or as part of the passive voice.
There are a couple of different verbs that translate as "to open" in German, in particular the two above, which can cause some confusion. When do we use eröffnen and when do we use öffnen?
Consider this: The verb eröffnen can be translated not only as "to open," but also as "to institute,” "to establish," “to inaugurate,” or even "to commence" or "to disclose." You will see eröffnen used in connection with non-physical entities, or anything that could also be described using these other translations, such as a museum or a shop. The reading of a person's will in German is die Testamentseröffnung, and as you see in the third sentence below, the verb eröffnen is even used to describe congressional proceedings.
Zweitausendsechs hat das Museum eröffnet,
The museum opened in two thousand six,
inzwischen stehen hier mehr als hundertfünfzig Flipper.
meanwhile there are more than one hundred fifty pinball machines here.
Captions 6-7, Flipperautomaten - Kunstwerke für flinke Kugeln
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Hallo, ja, guten Tag. Ich möchte gern ein Bankkonto eröffnen.
Hello, yes, good day. I would like to open a bank account.
Caption 12, Eva erklärt - Bankkonten
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Sobald Sie Platz genommen haben, würde ich gerne die unterbrochene Sitzung wieder eröffnen.
As soon as you've taken your seats, I would like to re-open the suspended session.
Captions 1-2, Bundesregierung - Vereidigung der Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel
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The verb öffnen, on the other hand, is used with objects, such as a door, a letter, a bottle, or an umbrella. In everyday spoken German, öffnen is often replaced with aufmachen.
Wann wurde die Mauer in Berlin für alle geöffnet?
When was the wall in Berlin opened for all?
Caption 36, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Einbürgerungstest
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Die Polizei sagt, er solle seinen Kofferraum aufmachen.
The police [officer] says he should open his trunk.
Caption 4, Sabine erzählt Witze - Die Pinguine
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Further Learning
Browse through the many instances of eröffnen, öffnen, and aufmachen that can be found on Yabla German to get more clarity on which verb is used when. You can search not only for the infinitive, but also the conjugated verbs and the participles eröffnet, geöffnet, and aufgemacht.
Many of you probably know the stock line Halt oder ich schieße! (Stop or I’ll shoot!) from old American and British WWII movies, but did you know there are many other ways to say “stop” in German? The German verbs halten and stoppen are easy to remember, since they have the English equivalent verbs “halt” and “stop,” but separable verbs such as aufhören and anhalten are a bit trickier!
Let’s first take a look at a couple of examples using the verb halten in the imperative mood, both from the classic children’s book series Der Struwwelpeter:
Halt! Das ist noch gutgegangen
Stop! That just barely turned out ok
und die Fischlein sehen's mit Bangen.
and the little fish watch it with fear.
Caption 12, Der Struwwelpeter - Hans Guck-in-die-Luft
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Robert, halt! Dein Schirm fliegt fort.
Robert, stop! Your umbrella is flying away.
Caption 11, Der Struwwelpeter - Der fliegende Robert
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Next we see the use of the verb stoppen:
Bislang konnte das die Ausbreitung der Läden aber nicht stoppen.
So far, however, this hasn't stopped the spread of the shops.
Caption 35, Perlentee - In allen Mündern
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And even an example using both halten and stoppen in the imperative mood:
Stopp! Stopp, stopp, stopp, stopp, stopp! Halt!
Stop! Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop! Hold on!
Caption 24, Deutschkurs in Blaubeuren - Der Relativsatz
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Note that Yabla purposefully translated halten as “hold on” in order to differentiate it from the translations of stoppen as “stop.”
Another very useful German word for “stop” is aufhören, which is a separable verb that is most commonly used when you want an activity to stop. Here in the conditional mood:
Nein, wenn wir keine Lust mehr hätten, würden wir ja aufhören.
No, if we had no more desire, yes, we would stop.
Caption 25, Die Beatles - in Deutschland
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In the imperative mood, the verb’s lexical core is separated from its particle:
Hör auf! -Du musst genau hinsehen.
Stop! -You must watch closely.
Caption 13, Filmtrailer - Wir sind die Nacht
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And here an example using the present perfect tense:
Sie hat überhaupt nicht mehr aufgehört mit Eismachen.
She just never stopped making ice cream.
Caption 6, Eis - Eiskalte Leidenschaft
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The separable verb anhalten, on the other hand, is used primarily to indicate the stopping of moving objects or vehicles:
Ein Mann fährt mit seinem Auto.
A man is driving in his car.
Dann wird er von der Polizei angehalten.
Then he is stopped by the police.
Captions 2-3, Sabine erzählt Witze - Die Pinguine
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It is possible to confuse anhalten with the verb for “to keep” (halten) and the preposition “on” (an). Usually the context makes it obvious:
Ihren Pfiffi sollten sie aber lieber an der kurzen Leine halten.
But you had better keep your Fifi on a short leash.
Caption 39, Für Tierfreunde - Geparden
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Another version of “stop” with a very specific context is stehen bleiben, alternately written as one word (stehenbleiben), which is when a person stops walking or running:
Das heißt, jedes Mal, wenn man ihn gefangen hat,
That means, every time you catch it,
muss man stehen bleiben.
you have to stop.
Caption 10, Ultimate Frisbee - Spielregeln
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How would you translate the following?
Stopp, halt, hör auf mit dem Anhalten!
Note that in the above sentence, the verb anhalten has been nominalized into the noun Anhalten. Many of the alternate German words for "stop" may be translated, depending on the context, with other English synonyms for “stop,” such as “cease,” “discontinue,” “interrupt,” “turn off,” “shut down,” “finish,” “break off,” “close,” or “end.”
Learning suggestions:
When you're watching Yabla videos, see if you can spot any other German versions of “stop.” You may learn some more synonyms for “stop” here.
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