sausen
zoom · rush
Sich sehr schnell von einem Ort zu einem anderen bewegen, oft mit einem pfeifenden Geräusch.
Definition & meaning
sausen is a German verb with several related meanings:
-
To rush, speed, or whiz
- It describes a person or object moving very quickly, often with a rushing sound.
- Das Auto saust die Straße entlang. — “The car speeds down the road.”
- Der Ball sauste ins Tor. — “The ball shot into the goal.”
-
To whizz, hum, or whoosh
- It describes a continuous or high-pitched sound, often made by wind, machinery, or something moving rapidly through the air.
- Der Wind saust durch die Bäume. — “The wind is whooshing through the trees.”
- Die Maschine saust laut. — “The machine is humming loudly.”
-
To rush off or hurry away, usually colloquially
- Er sauste nach Hause. — “He rushed home.”
- Sie sauste aus dem Zimmer. — “She hurried out of the room.”
In the expression jemandem sausen die Ohren, it means that someone’s ears are ringing:
- Mir sausen die Ohren. — “My ears are ringing.”
Grammar & Word origin
- Infinitive: sausen
- Third-person singular present: er/sie/es saust
- Simple past: sauste
- Past participle: gesaust
- Auxiliary verb: usually sein for movement and haben for producing a sound
- Er ist davongesaust. — “He rushed away.”
- Der Wind hat gesaust. — “The wind was whooshing.”
It is a regular verb and has no separable prefix. The word is probably imitative in origin, evoking the sound of rushing air or a rapidly moving object. The related noun is das Sausen , meaning “whooshing,” “whizzing,” or “ringing.”
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonyms
- rasen — “to race” or “to speed”; generally suggests very high speed and can imply danger or recklessness.
- flitzen — “to dart” or “to zip”; more informal and often used for people or small objects.
- sprinten — “to sprint”; specifically means running at maximum speed.
- zischen — “to hiss” or “to whiz”; emphasizes a sharp sound rather than movement itself.
- brausen — “to roar,” “rush,” or “surge”; usually describes a powerful, loud movement or sound, especially of wind, water, or traffic.
- eilen — “to hurry”; focuses on urgency rather than speed or sound.
Antonyms
There is no single exact antonym for all meanings of sausen:
- stillstehen — “to stand still”; the opposite of moving rapidly.
- anhalten — “to stop”; the opposite of rushing onward.
- langsamen — “to slow down”; the opposite of speeding up.
- verstummen — “to fall silent”; the opposite of making a rushing or humming sound.
- leise sein — “to be quiet”; contrasts with the noisy sense of sausen.
Common phrases & collocations
- davonsausen — to rush away
- vorbeisausen — to whiz past
- durch die Luft sausen — to whiz through the air
- Der Wind saust. — The wind is whooshing.
- Mir sausen die Ohren. — My ears are ringing.
- etwas sausen lassen — literally “to let something whiz away”; colloquially, to give something up, abandon it, or let an opportunity slip away
- Lass es sausen! — “Forget it!” or “Let it go!” in informal speech
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Examples
Die Kinder sausen durch den Park.verb
The children zoom through the park.
Der Zug sauste heute Morgen am Bahnhof vorbei.verb
The train rushed past the station this morning.
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