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ernähren. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
ernähren, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
ernähren in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
ernähren you have here. The definition of the word
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German
Etymology
From er- + nähren.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʔɛɐ̯ˈnɛːɐ̯n/, /ʔɛɐ̯ˈnɛːʁən/ (standard; used naturally in western Germany and Switzerland)
- IPA(key): /ʔɛɐ̯ˈneːɐ̯n/, /ʔɛɐ̯ˈneːʁən/ (overall more common; particularly northern and eastern regions)
- Hyphenation: er‧näh‧ren
Verb
ernähren (weak, third-person singular present ernährt, past tense ernährte, past participle ernährt, auxiliary haben)
- (transitive) to nourish, to feed
- (reflexive) to eat
Sie ernähren sich von Quallen, Tintenfischen und Plankton.- They eat jellyfish, squids and plankton.
- (transitive) to support
Er arbeitet schwer, um seine große Familie zu ernähren.- He works hard to support his large family.
Conjugation
Conjugation of
ernähren (
weak, auxiliary
haben)
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Composed forms of
ernähren (
weak, auxiliary
haben)
Derived terms
Further reading
- “ernähren” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “ernähren” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “ernähren” in Duden online
- “ernähren” in OpenThesaurus.de