verb

auftauen

thaw · defrost

Definition & meaning

auftauen means to thaw or to defrost: to become unfrozen, or to make something frozen become soft or liquid again.

Das Eis taut auf. — The ice is thawing.
Ich taue das Essen auf. — I’m defrosting the food.

Figuratively, it can mean to warm up or to become more relaxed and sociable, especially after someone has seemed reserved.

Nach einer Weile taute er auf. — After a while, he warmed up.

Grammar & Word origin

auftauen is a separable verb: in a main clause, auf moves to the end (Das Eis taut auf). It combines auf (“up” or “open”) with tauen (“to thaw”).

It is a regular verb. In the perfect tense, use sein when something thaws by itself (Das Eis ist aufgetaut) and haben when someone defrosts something (Ich habe das Essen aufgetaut).

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms include:

tauen — “to thaw”; often refers to ice or snow melting naturally. Auftauen can also mean deliberately defrosting food or figuratively becoming more relaxed.
enteisen — “to de-ice”; usually means removing ice from a surface, rather than thawing food.

Antonyms include:

einfrieren — “to freeze” or “to put in a freezer”; the direct opposite when referring to food.
gefrieren — “to freeze” or “to become frozen,” typically describing something turning solid.

Common phrases & collocations

Lebensmittel auftauen — to defrost food
Fleisch auftauen — to thaw meat
im Kühlschrank auftauen — to defrost in the refrigerator
langsam auftauen — to thaw slowly; also used figuratively for someone gradually becoming more relaxed