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erfüllen. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
erfüllen, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
erfüllen in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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German
Etymology
er- + füllen
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʔɛɐ̯ˈfʏlən/
- Hyphenation: er‧fül‧len
Verb
erfüllen (weak, third-person singular present erfüllt, past tense erfüllte, past participle erfüllt, auxiliary haben)
- (transitive, often poetic) to fill (with something physical or abstract)
Die Schale war ganz von einer geheimnisvollen Flüssigkeit erfüllt.- The bowl was entirely filled by a mysterious liquid.
Gleißendes Licht erfüllt den Raum.- Glistening light fills the room.
Wehmut erfüllte die Waise beim Anblick des Fotos ihrer Eltern.- The orphan was filled with wistfulness as they looked at the photograph of their parents.
- (transitive) to fulfill / fulfil
- ein Versprechen erfüllen ― to fulfill/fulfil a promise
- einen Vertrag erfüllen ― to perform a contract
- (reflexive) to come true
Die Weissagung hat sich erfüllt.- The prophecy has come true.
- (ditransitive) to grant (a wish, a request)
Der Flaschengeist erfüllte ihm drei Wünsche.- The genie granted him three wishes.
Conjugation
Conjugation of
erfüllen (
weak, auxiliary
haben)
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Composed forms of
erfüllen (
weak, auxiliary
haben)
Derived terms
Further reading
- “erfüllen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “erfüllen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “erfüllen” in Duden online
- “erfüllen” in OpenThesaurus.de