machen

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See also: Machen

Czech

Pronunciation

Noun

machen f

  1. genitive plural of machna

German

Etymology

Inherited from Middle High German machen, from Old High German mahhōn, from Proto-West Germanic *makōn, from Proto-Indo-European *mag- (to knead, mix, make). Cognate with English make.

Pronunciation

Verb

machen (weak, third-person singular present macht, past tense machte, past participle gemacht, auxiliary haben)

  1. (transitive) to make, to produce, to create (an object, arrangement, situation, etc.)
    Synonyms: produzieren, herstellen
    Ich hab dir einen Kuchen gemacht!I made you a pie!
    Du hast einen Fehler gemacht.You made a mistake.
  2. (transitive) to make, prepare (food, drinks, etc.)
    Synonym: vorbereiten
    Machst du heute das Essen?Are you making dinner today?
    sich eine Pizza machento prepare a pizza for oneself
  3. (transitive, informal) to do, perform, carry out (an action) (to execute; to put into operation)
    Synonym: tun
    Mach es!Do it!
    Das hat er ganz allein gemacht!He did that all by himself!
    ein Experiment machento perform an experiment
  4. (transitive) to do (a noun); indicates an activity associated with a noun
    Sport machendo sports
    eine Party machenhave a party
  5. (transitive) to go (a specified sound) (to make the sound)
    Das Auto machte "Bumm" und hielt an.The car went "boom" and stopped.
  6. (transitive) to make, to cause
    Sie hat mich lachen gemacht.She made me laugh.
    Deine Witze machen, dass ich lächle.Your jokes make me smile.
  7. (transitive) to cause (often translated idiomatically with English make followed by an adjective)
    Die Nacht macht mir Angst.Night makes me afraid. (literally, “The night causes fear in me.”)
  8. (transitive) to make (to cause to be)
    Dieser Film macht mich schläfrig.This movie makes me sleepy.
  9. (transitive) to make (to transform) (often translated idiomatically with English turn (something into something else))
    Die Mühle macht Mehl aus Weizen.The mill turns wheat into flower. (literally, “The mill makes flour from wheat.”)
  10. (transitive) to make (to have as a feature) (often not translated literally)
    Die Straße macht vor uns eine Linkskurve.The road makes a turn to the left ahead.
  11. (transitive, informal, colloquial) to come to, to total, to cost (to require the payment of)
    Synonym: kosten
    Wie viel macht das?How much does that come to?
  12. (transitive, arithmetic) to make, to be (the result of a calculation)
    Sieben plus fünf macht zwölf.Seven plus five makes twelve.
  13. (transitive, informal, colloquial) to make (to earn, gain wages, profit, etc.)
    Synonyms: verdienen, einheimsen
    Der Herr Müller ist echt reich; der macht mehr als 5000 Euro im Monat.
    Mr Müller is quite rich; he makes more than 5000 Euros per month.
  14. (transitive) to be, to play (to act as the indicated role, especially in a performance)
  15. (transitive, colloquial) to signify, to mean (translated idiomatically as English (not) matter)
    Das macht nichts!That doesn't matter! (literally, “That means nothing!”)
  16. (intransitive, informal) to make, to make oneself out to be, to act, to play (to behave so as to give an appearance of being; to act as if one were (something, or a certain way))
    Jetzt macht er auf Elder Statesman.Now he's playing the elder statesman.
  17. (intransitive, informal, euphemistic) to do one's business, do number two or number one, go (to defecate or urinate)
    groß machen (childish)to go poop
    klein machen (childish)to go pee
  18. (reflexive) to do, to fare
    Machen Sie sich gut?Are you doing well?
  19. (reflexive) to look (to have an appearance of being)
    Der Mantel macht sich sehr schön.The coat looks very nice.
  20. (dative reflexive, colloquial) to get cracking (on/with), to get a move on (it), to get down (to)
  21. (imperative) come on, let's go

Usage notes

  • Unlike the English distinction between make and do, the verb machen (make) can be used as a synonym for tun (do) in most cases. However, tun cannot be used for the proper senses of machen.
  • The verb machen can be combined with many different nouns to create various expressions. These can often be translated into English with make or take. For many of these expressions, a more specific verb is available and is usually preferred in formal or written language.
    Angaben machento provide information
    eine Aufzeichnung machento keep a record
    Ausflüchte machento make excuses
    Bankrott/Pleite machento go bankrupt
    eine Besorgung machento run an errand
    ein Bett machento make a bed
    Feierabend machento call it a day
    Ferien machento take a vacation, to go on holiday
    ein Feuer machento light a fire
    ein Foto machento take a picture
    Fortschritte machento make headway
    Gewinn machento turn a profit
    Kasse machento cash in
    einen Krach machento make a racket
    einen Kurs machento take a course
    Notizen machento take notes
    Platz machento make room
    eine Reise machento take a trip
    Schluss machento call it quits
    Spaß machento be fun
    Überstunden machento do overtime
    Witze machento joke

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading

  • machen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • machen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
  • machen” in Duden online
  • machen” in OpenThesaurus.de

Middle English

Verb

machen

  1. Alternative form of macchen

Middle High German

Etymology

Inherited from Old High German mahhōn, from Proto-West Germanic *makōn.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): (before 13th CE) /ˈmaxən/

Verb

machen (class 2 weak, third-person singular present machet, past tense machete, past participle gemachet, auxiliary hān)

  1. to make
  2. to do

Conjugation

Descendants

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmat͡ʃen/
  • Rhymes: -atʃen
  • Syllabification: ma‧chen

Verb

machen

  1. inflection of machar:
    1. third-person plural present subjunctive
    2. third-person plural imperative