verdanken
owe
Dieses Wort beschreibt, dass man jemandem oder etwas einen Erfolg oder eine Hilfe zu verdanken hat. Es bedeutet, dass eine Person oder ein Umstand der Grund für etwas Gutes ist, das man jetzt besitzt oder erreicht hat.
Definition & meaning
The verb verdanken generally means to owe something to someone or something. It is used in two primary contexts:
- To attribute success or a result to a specific cause: It implies that a positive outcome is the result of a specific person's help, a circumstance, or a factor. For example, "He owes his life to the doctor" or "We owe our success to hard work."
- To express gratitude (formal): In a more formal or bureaucratic context, it can mean to acknowledge the receipt of something (such as a gift or a message) with thanks.
Grammar & Word origin
Grammar:
- verdanken is a regular, separable verb (in some contexts) or inseparable transitive verb depending on usage, though it is primarily used as an inseparable transitive verb taking the accusative case for the thing owed and the dative case for the person/thing it is owed to (jemandem [dative] etwas [accusative] verdanken).
Word origin:
- It is derived from the prefix ver- (indicating an action related to the root) and danken (to thank). Literally, it carries the sense of "to thank someone for something" or "to have to thank someone for something."
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonyms:
- schulden (in the sense of being indebted)
- zu verdanken haben
- zurückführen auf (in the sense of attributing)
- danken
Antonyms:
- (There are no direct lexical antonyms for this verb, as the concept of "un-owing" does not exist in German grammar in this form.)
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Examples
Wir verdanken ihm viel.verb
We owe him a lot.
Meinen Erfolg verdanke ich meinem beständigen Fleiß und meiner Entschlossenheit, niemals aufzugeben.verb
I owe my success to my constant diligence and my determination to never give up.
Wir verdanken unseren Frieden vielen mutigen Menschen.verb
We owe our peace to many brave people.
Wem verdankt ihr eure guten Noten in Mathe?verb
To whom do you owe your good grades in math?
Welche Vorteile verdankst du deiner Weiterbildung?verb
Which advantages do you owe to your further education?
Viele Schülerinnen und Schüler verdanken ihrem Lehrer die gute Klassenatmosphäre.verb
Many students owe the good classroom atmosphere to their teacher.
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