aufgewachsen

Meaning (English)

aufgewachsen is the past participle of aufwachsen and means:

• to have grown up (spent one’s childhood/adolescence somewhere or in certain circumstances)
• to have grown (of living things like plants; less common in everyday speech than the “grow up” sense)

Common use:

• Ich bin in Berlin aufgewachsen. = I grew up in Berlin.

Parts / Word formation

• auf- (separable prefix; roughly “up”)
• wachsen = “to grow”
• aufgewachsen = ge- + stem + -en (past participle form)

German synonyms

For the “grow up” meaning:

• groß werden
• heranwachsen
• sich entwickeln (more general: develop)

For the “grow” (plants) meaning:

• wachsen
• heranwachsen (can also fit, depending on context)

German antonyms (where applicable)

For “grow up” there is no perfect one-word opposite, but context-based opposites include:

• (nicht) aufgewachsen sein (simply negated)
• wegziehen / fortziehen (opposite idea to “having grown up in a place,” focusing on leaving)

For “grow” (plants):

• verkümmern (wither, languish)
• eingehen (die off, wither—plants)