German Grammar A–Z
Look up German grammar topics A–Z, organized by category and level — with clear explanations and examples.
Verbs with greifen
German has many compound verbs with the root "greifen", each with its own distinct meaning depending on the prefix. These verbs are not only rich in meaning but also very important for expressing specific actions. This article will help you better understand the differences between the eight verbs aufgreifen, angreifen, begreifen, durchgreifen, eingreifen, ergreifen, zugreifen and übergreifen, through explanations of their meanings and concrete examples.
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|
Verb |
Meaning |
Example |
|
aufgreifen |
to grab/catch (someone, or an issue/opportunity/idea...) |
Die Polizei hat den Verdächtigen auf der Flucht aufgegriffen. (The police caught the suspect who was fleeing) |
|
angreifen |
to attack, to start a fight to criticize harshly |
Der Hund hat den Postboten angegriffen. (The dog attacked the postman) Die Journalistin griff den Politiker wegen seiner Aussagen scharf an. (The journalist sharply criticized the politician for his statements) |
|
begreifen = verstehen |
to understand, to grasp something |
Es fiel ihm schwer, die komplexen Zusammenhänge zu begreifen. (He had difficulty understanding the complex connections) |
|
durchgreifen |
to intervene forcefully, to take decisive action |
Die Polizei muss bei solchen Demonstrationen hart durchgreifen. (The police must intervene forcefully in demonstrations like these) |
|
eingreifen |
to intervene, to step in (a milder nuance than durchgreifen) |
Der Lehrer musste eingreifen, um den Streit zu schlichten. (The teacher had to intervene to settle the argument) |
|
ergreifen die Macht ergreifen |
to hold, to grip (with the hand) can be used to refer to choosing a profession to seize an opportunity to touch emotions, to move to take over, to seize power |
Sie ergriff ihre Hand. (She gripped his hand) Ich habe mich entschieden, den Beruf der Lehrer zu ergreifen. (I decided to take up the teaching profession) Meine Schwester ergriff die Gelegenheit, in Deutschland zu studieren. (My sister seized the opportunity to study in Germany) Die Rede hat alle im Saal ergriffen. (The speech moved everyone in the hall.) Der General ergriff die Macht nach dem Staatsstreich. (The general seized power after the coup) |
|
zugreifen auf etw. zugreifen ≈ Zugang zu Daten haben |
to grab, to snatch to access data |
Er griff nach dem Ball zu. (He grabbed the ball) Dieses Auto ist gerade im Angebot. Du solltest zugreifen, bevor es zu spät ist! (This car is on sale right now. You should grab it before it is too late!) Er hatte Schwierigkeiten, von seinem Laptop aus auf seine E-Mails zuzugreifen. (He had difficulty accessing his emails from his laptop) |
|
übergreifen |
to spread, to extend to |
Das Feuer hat schnell auf die benachbarten Gebäude übergegriffen. (The fire quickly spread to the neighboring buildings) |
