belaufen
amount
Es bedeutet, dass eine Zahl oder ein Wert eine bestimmte Höhe erreicht oder hat.
Definition & meaning
The verb belaufen has two primary meanings in German:
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To amount to / to total: This is used when referring to a sum of money, a quantity, or a measurement. It implies that a total has been reached after calculation. Example: Die Kosten belaufen sich auf 500 Euro. (The costs amount to 500 Euros.)
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To cover by walking (rare/specialized): In a literal, physical sense, it describes moving over or across an area on foot (e.g., patrolling a territory). This usage is much less common and often restricted to technical, hunting, or forestry contexts. Example: Der Jäger beläuft sein Revier. (The hunter walks through his hunting grounds.)
Grammar & Word origin
Grammar:
- Type: Reflexive verb (when used as "sich belaufen auf") or transitive verb (when used in the physical sense).
- Conjugation: Strong verb. Present: er beläuft; Past: er belief; Participle: belaufen.
- Auxiliary verb: haben.
Word origin: It is a compound of the prefix be- (which can indicate an intensive action or covering something) and the verb laufen (to walk/run). Historically, the meaning evolved from the physical act of "walking all over" an area to the figurative sense of "reaching a total" (as if a sum of numbers had "walked" up to a certain point).
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonyms:
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For the meaning "to amount to":
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For the physical meaning "to walk over":
Antonyms: There are no direct antonyms for the mathematical meaning. For the physical meaning, one could consider "meiden" (to avoid) in the sense of not walking through a specific area.
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Examples
Seine Rechnung beläuft sich insgesamt auf einen hohen Betrag.verb
His bill amounts to a high total.
Seine Schulden belaufen sich auf eine hohe Summe.verb
His debts amount to a huge sum.
Unsere Kosten belaufen sich auf einen hohen Betrag.verb
Our costs amount to a high sum.
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