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begreifen. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
begreifen, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
begreifen in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
begreifen you have here. The definition of the word
begreifen will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
begreifen, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
German
Etymology
From Middle High German begrifen, from Old High German bigrīfan, from Proto-West Germanic *bigrīpan. Equivalent to be- + greifen. Compare English begripe and Dutch begrijpen.
Pronunciation
Verb
begreifen (class 1 strong, third-person singular present begreift, past tense begriff, past participle begriffen, auxiliary haben)
- (transitive) to grasp fully; to comprehend; to conceive, to fathom
- Synonyms: durchdringen, einsehen, erkennen
Der menschliche Verstand kann die Ewigkeit nicht wirklich begreifen.- The human mind cannot really comprehend eternity.
- (transitive, rather formal) to understand intellectually
Ich begreife nicht, wie das geschehen konnte.- I don’t understand how that could have happened.
- (transitive or reflexive, rather formal) to consider (to be); to see (as)
- Synonyms: verstehen, sehen, ansehen
2010, Der Spiegel, number 33/2010, page 71:Betroffen sind nun vor allem auch die gutausgebildeten und bislang gutverdienenden Leute. Diejenigen, die sich als solide Mittelklasse begreifen.- Also affected are now especially the well-educated and so far well-paid people. The ones that see themselves as solid middle class.
Conjugation
Conjugation of
begreifen (class 1
strong, auxiliary
haben)
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Composed forms of
begreifen (class 1
strong, auxiliary
haben)
Synonyms
Derived terms
Further reading