wirken
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German
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle High German wirken, from Old High German wirken, from Proto-Germanic *wirkijaną. Early on merged with Middle High German würken, from Old High German wurken, from Proto-Germanic *wurkijaną, closely related to the first-mentioned verb. The i-form prevailed in Central German, the ü-form in Upper German; the latter was displaced from the written language in the 18th century.
Pronunciation
Verb
wirken (weak, third-person singular present wirkt, past tense wirkte, past participle gewirkt, auxiliary haben)
- (intransitive) to function, to be effective, to work
- Das neue Medikament wirkt nicht so gut wie Aspirin.
- The new medicine doesn't work as well as aspirin.
- Dieser Köder wirkt wie ein Fischmagnet.
- This bait works like a fish magnet.
- (copulative, sometimes impersonal, often with auf (to) + accusative) to appear, to seem
- Dieses Essen wirkt etwas fade.
- This food seems a little bland.
- Es wirkt, als wollten sie das Projekt abbrechen.
- It seems like they want to cancel the project.
- Du wirkst seltsam auf mich.
- You seem strange to me.
- Lassen Sie die einzigartige Landschaft auf sich wirken.
- Let the unique landscape have its effect on you.
- (transitive) to perform (some action), to achieve (some effect), to work (cause to happen), to cast (a spell)
- Die Therapie wirkt Wunder bei meiner Arthritis.
- The therapy works wonders for my arthritis.
- (intransitive) to work or be active in a certain field or activity
- Ich habe einige Jahre als Architekt gewirkt.
- I worked as an architect for several years.
- (intransitive, with für) to work (toward a goal or for a cause)
- Wir wirken für den Frieden und den Schutz der Umwelt.
- We work for peace and the protection of the environment.
- (intransitive) to take effect, to be effective
- Die neue Regel wirkt ab sofort.
- The new rule is effective immediately.
- (manufacturing) to knit (with yarn), to brocade
- (baking) to knead
Conjugation
| infinitive | wirken | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present participle | wirkend | ||||
| past participle | gewirkt | ||||
| auxiliary | haben | ||||
| indicative | subjunctive | ||||
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| present | ich wirke | wir wirken | i | ich wirke | wir wirken |
| du wirkst | ihr wirkt | du wirkest | ihr wirket | ||
| er wirkt | sie wirken | er wirke | sie wirken | ||
| preterite | ich wirkte | wir wirkten | ii | ich wirkte1 | wir wirkten1 |
| du wirktest | ihr wirktet | du wirktest1 | ihr wirktet1 | ||
| er wirkte | sie wirkten | er wirkte1 | sie wirkten1 | ||
| imperative | wirk (du) wirke (du) |
wirkt (ihr) | |||
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Derived terms
Related terms
References
- ^ Friedrich Kluge (1989) “wirken”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN
Further reading
- “wirken” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “wirken” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “wirken” in Duden online
- “wirken” in OpenThesaurus.de
wirken on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia de
Old Dutch
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *wirkijan.
Verb
wirken
Inflection
This verb needs an inflection-table template.
Descendants
Further reading
- “wirken”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012