verb

vernehmen

hear · interrogate

Etwas mit den Ohren hören oder eine Person zu einer Sache befragen.

Definition & meaning

vernehmen is a formal or literary German verb with two main meanings:

To hear, perceive, or learn something
- This meaning is relatively elevated and often refers to hearing a sound or receiving information.
- Example: Ich vernahm ein leises Geräusch. — “I heard a faint noise.”
- It can also mean “to learn” or “to hear that something happened”: Er vernahm, dass die Verhandlung verschoben wurde. — “He learned that the hearing had been postponed.”
To officially question or interrogate someone
- This is especially common in legal, police, or administrative contexts.
- Example: Die Polizei vernahm den Zeugen. — “The police questioned the witness.”
- The person being questioned is normally in the accusative: jemanden vernehmen .

Grammar & Word origin

Infinitive: vernehmen
Verb type: irregular, non-separable verb
Present tense: er vernimmt
Simple past: er vernahm
Past participle: vernommen
Auxiliary verb: haben
Example: Sie hat den Angeklagten vernommen. — “She questioned the accused.”

The word consists historically of the prefix ver- and nehmen , “to take.” In modern German, the meaning cannot be understood literally from these parts. The verb is related to the older sense of “taking in” information through hearing.

Synonyms & antonyms

Meaning “to hear or learn”

hören — the ordinary, neutral word for “to hear.” Vernehmen sounds more formal, literary, or old-fashioned.
wahrnehmen — “to perceive” or “to notice”; it is broader and can refer to any sense, not only hearing.
erfahren — “to find out” or “to learn”; it emphasizes obtaining information rather than hearing it directly.
mitbekommen — colloquial “to hear about” or “to notice”; much less formal than vernehmen.

Possible opposites include:

überhören — “to fail to hear” or “to ignore something heard.”
ignorieren — “to ignore,” focusing on deliberately paying no attention.

Meaning “to officially question”

befragen — the most general synonym for “to question someone.” It is less strongly associated with legal proceedings.
verhören — “to interrogate”; it often sounds more intense and is especially associated with police questioning.
interviewen — “to interview”; usually used for journalistic or research interviews rather than formal legal questioning.

Possible opposites include:

entlassen — “to release” someone after questioning or from custody.
schweigen lassen — literally “to let someone remain silent,” the opposite of actively questioning them.

Common phrases & collocations

jemanden vernehmen — to question someone officially
einen Zeugen vernehmen — to question a witness
einen Verdächtigen vernehmen — to question a suspect
den Angeklagten vernehmen — to question the accused
eine Aussage vernehmen — to hear or take a statement
ein Geräusch vernehmen — to hear a sound
wie man vernimmt — “as one hears” or “according to reports”; formal and somewhat literary