In today's lesson, we'll look at the many different meanings of the German verb ausmachen, which is a separable verb.
If we look at the parts of this verb, machen means "to do" or "to make" and aus means "out," "off," or "over." This will help us, but only to a certain extent. First, we have a very common translation of ausmachen, which is "to turn off":
Handys bitte ausmachen!
Please turn off your cell phones!
Caption 31, Verstehen Sie Spaß?: Sascha Grammel
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So, Annakind, jetzt wird aber Licht ausgemacht.
So, little Anna, now the light will be turned off.
Caption 17, Filmtrailer: Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl
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Next, it can also mean "to put out" when it comes to fire, and is used instead of the verb löschen ("to extinguish"):
Mit wenigen hundert Litern können wir einen Wohnungsbrand ausmachen.
With a few hundred liters we can put out an apartment fire.
Caption 87, Feuerwehr Heidelberg: Löschfahrzeug
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Willst du nicht mal die Zigarette ausmachen?
Don't you want to put out the cigarette?
Caption 1, Lerchenberg: Viva La Television!
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The verb ausmachen can be used if you've made an agreement with someone or arranged something:
Wir hatten doch ausgemacht, dass wir uns duzen!
But we had agreed that we'd address one another informally!
Caption 3, Konjugation: Das Verb „können“
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Und da haben wir auch, direkt auch einen Songwriting-Termin ausgemacht.
And then we also arranged a songwriting session right away.
Caption 31, LOTTE & Max Giesinger: Interview
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You can use ausmachen to state that something matters or has an effect:
...wie unheimlich viel das ausmacht, wenn jemand einfach so 'nen Laden gut im Griff hat.
...how incredibly much it matters when someone simply has a good grip on the shop.
Captions 24-25, Live-Entertainment-Award: Glamouröse Preisverleihung
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And in a related usage, it's very common to use the following construction to inquire about a potential negative effect, bother, or inconvenience:
Würde es Ihnen denn was ausmachen, wenn wir ...
Would it be a problem for you then if we...
Caption 40, Weihnachtsfilm: Ein Sack voll Geld
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Yet another translation is "to form," "to constitute," or "to comprise":
Du hast einen Zauber, der dich ausmacht.
You have a magic that forms you.
Caption 14, Cris Cosmo: Herzschlag
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Wien besitzt viele unterschiedliche Parkanlagen und ist weltweit eine der Städte mit dem höchsten Grünflächenanteil, der die Hälfte des Stadtgebiets ausmacht.
Vienna has many different parks and is one of the cities worldwide with the largest percentage of green areas, which comprise half of the city's space.
Captions 19-21, Reisebericht: Wien
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Be careful, as "to make out" in English has meanings that ausmachen does not. We might say, "I could make out the shape of her house in the distance" or "I couldn't make out what he wrote" in English, but other German verbs (such as erkennen or entziffern) are generally used in these contexts. The common slang usage of "to make out" in English that involves kissing has its own verb in German, which is knutschen, and ausmachen also isn't used for the idea of "making out well" in a deal or situation.
Further Learning
Create a sentence using each definition of ausmachen and etwas ausmachen listed above. You will find many more examples on Yabla German if you do a quick search.
While studying German, you have probably confronted both sitzen and setzen. Generally, the verb sitzen is quite straightforward in simply meaning "to sit," or more specifically "to be sitting." The reflexive verb sich setzen is also translated as "to sit" but refers to the action of sitting down (there is also the verb sich hinsetzen which can be more or less a synonym).
Wir sitzen hier am Strand in der Nähe von Todos Santos und sind am Meer.
We are sitting here on the beach near Todos Santos and are by the sea.
Caption 3, Anna - Am Strand in Mexiko
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Wo setzen wir uns denn hin? -Setzen wir uns da drüben hin. -OK.
Where should we seat ourselves then? -Let's sit over there. -OK.
Caption 1, Fernsehmoderatorin - Sonya Kraus
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To remember the distinction, it is perhaps helpful to consider that setzen as a non-reflexive verbs means "to put," "to place," or "to set."
Die helfen mir, noch leichter Ziele zu setzen.
They help me to set goals even more easily.
Caption 15, Gamification - Wie Spielen den Alltag interessanter macht - Part 2
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Setzen is also the root of a multitude of verbs. Take a look at the following examples with einsetzen ("to use," "to implement"), absetzen (which is used in many contexts, from "to deduct" something for your taxes to "to remove" a pair of glasses), and besetzen ("to occupy").
Früher hat man mehr als zwei-, dreitausend Liter eingesetzt für einen Wohnungsbrand.
In the past they used more than two or three thousand liters for an apartment fire.
Caption 88, Feuerwehr Heidelberg - Löschfahrzeug - Part 1
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Den Helm hatte er abgesetzt, weil's so heiß war.
He'd taken off the helmet because it was so hot.
Caption 53, Großstadtrevier - Von Monstern und Mördern - Part 9
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Man sollte keine Plätze besetzen mit Taschen oder mit Jacken, damit andere Gäste sich hinsetzen können.
You shouldn't occupy seats with bags or with jackets so that other guests can sit down.
Captions 33-34, Unterwegs mit Cettina - Bahn fahren
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Further Learning
Here is a list of verbs with setzen as their root for your perusal. Look for examples of some of these verbs, such as aufsetzen, durchsetzen, or umsetzen, on Yabla German. Try to searching for their participles as well!
Reflexive verbs have a substantial presence in the German language. There are quite a few verbs that are not reflexive in English, but always reflexive in German, for example, sich beeilen ("to hurry"). It is important to know which verbs require a reflexive pronoun in German, but also that certain verbs may sometimes be reflexive and sometimes not, which then affects their meaning.
For example, sich umziehen means "to change clothes," while umziehen means "to move":
Dann würde ich sagen, gehe ich mich mal umziehen.
Then, I'd say, I'll go and change.
Hast du Klamotten für mich?
Do you have some clothes for me?
Caption 13, Ultimate Frisbee - Oli erklärt das Spiel
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In wenigen Wochen werden Kato, Scratch und Lina ganz in den Zoo Neuwied umziehen.
In a few weeks, Kato, Scratch and Lina will move full-time into the Neuwied zoo.
Caption 38, Wie süß - Drei Löwen im Wohnzimmer
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Similarly, sich hinlegen means "to lie down" in the sense of going to bed, but hinlegen simply means "to set down" or "to put down."
Ich muss mich beeilen, damit ich mich bald hinlegen kann.
I have to hurry so that I can go to bed soon.
Caption 68, Berufsleben - das Vorstellungsgespräch
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Hm, ich weiß genau, dass ich die Schwimmer hier irgendwo hingelegt hab'.
Hm, I know for sure that I put the floats down here somewhere.
Vorstellen means "to present," whereas sich vorstellen can mean either "to introduce oneself" (with the accusative pronoun) or "to imagine" (with the dative pronoun).
Hallo, heute werde ich dir die Schultern, die Arme und die Hände vorstellen.
Hello, today I'll present the shoulders, the arms and the hands.
Captions 1-2, Der menschliche Körper - die Arme
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Ich könnte mir gar kein Leben ohne Kinder vorstellen.
I couldn't at all imagine a life without children.
Caption 15, Cettina interviewt - Mütter
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Könnten Sie sich uns kurz vorstellen und beschreiben, was Sie hier machen?
Could you quickly introduce yourself to us and describe what you do here?
Caption 6, Feuerwehr Heidelberg - Löschfahrzeug
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