lernen

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See also: Lernen

German

Etymology

From Middle High German lernen, from Old High German lernēn, lirnēn, from Proto-West Germanic *liʀnēn. Cognate with Old English leornian (Modern English learn). Related to lehren.

Pronunciation

Verb

lernen (weak, third-person singular present lernt, past tense lernte, past participle gelernt, auxiliary haben)

  1. (intransitive or transitive) to learn
    Ich lerne noch.I’m still learning.
    Ich lerne Spanisch.I’m learning Spanish.
    • 2010, Der Spiegel, number 25/2010, page 77:
      Es gilt deshalb, die richtigen Lehren aus der Krise zu ziehen, aus den Fehlern der Vergangenheit zu lernen, um die Zukunft zu sichern.
      Therefore it is necessary to draw the right lessons from the crisis, to learn from the mistakes of the past for securing the future.
  2. (intransitive) to study (revise or review materials)
    Synonyms: büffeln, pauken, üben, sich vorbereiten
    Ich lerne für meine Prüfung.I’m studying for my exam.
  3. (somewhat informal, transitive) to train to become something
    Synonyms: eine Lehre/Ausbildung machen, ausgebildet werden
    Ich lerne Bäcker.I’m training to be a baker.
  4. (colloquial, nonstandard, transitive) to learn (someone) (i.e. to teach)
    Synonyms: beibringen, lehren
    Das lern ich dir.That'll learn you! (literally, “I'll teach you that.”)

Conjugation

Derived terms

See also

Further reading

Old High German

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *liʀnēn, akin to Old Dutch lernon, Old Frisian lernia, Old English leornian.

Verb

lernēn

  1. to learn, study

Conjugation

Derived terms

Descendants