"ver-" has a great many meanings, some of which go back to earlier, Gothic forms. It is probably easiest just to note some of the variety - and it is clearly impossible to list all or even most of the possibilities.
In some cases, the meaning of "ver-" is not obvious: "verletzen" to injure. Or, when it has the function of "making things worse" (see the next example), the original verb is not as well known: "verstauchen" to sprain:
| Knee sprained? Have you recently injured your knee? For an out-patient drug study we are looking for patients who have sprained their knee in athletic or other activities. | |
"ver-" can make things worse: "hungern" (to be hungry; to fast) - "verhungern" (to starve to death); "komplizieren" (to complicate) -"verkomplizieren" (to thoroughly complicate); "zweifeln" (to doubt) - verzweifeln (to despair).
| versalzen to oversalt |
| Der Koch hat die Suppe versalzt. The cook put too much salt in the soup. |
verdrehen to distort; to skew |
| Deine Version verdreht die Wahrheit. Your version distorts the truth. |
"ver-" can reverse a process: "kaufen" (to buy) - "verkaufen" (to sell); "mieten" (to rent, to pay rent for) - "vermieten" (to let, to rent out)
| To rent! 4-room duplex loft apartment in Berlin-Schmargendorf / near Roseneck - quiet location - balcony - self-contained central gas heating | |
"sich ver-" can mean to do something the wrong way:
| Ich habe mich verschluckt. I swallowed (something) the wrong way. |
Du hast dich wohl verrechnet. You probably miscalculated (made an error in computation). |
sich verlaufen (verlief, verlaufen [verläuft]) to get lost (walking) |
| Die Kinder verliefen sich im Wald. The children got lost in the woods. |
sich verfahren (verfuhr, verfahren [verfährt]) to get lost (driving) |
| In Boston verfährt man sich leicht. It's easy to get lost driving in Boston. |
But:Ich habe mich in Ihre Tochter verliebt. I've fallen in love with your daughter.
"ver-" plus a comparative adjective indicates bringing about that change:
| verbessern to improve; to correct |
| Du hättest diesen Aufsatz verbessern sollen. You should have improved this essay. |
| Du kannst mein Deutsch ruhig verbessern. Feel free to correct my German. |
verlängern to extend |
| Können wir die Frist verlängern? Can we extend the deadline? |
But the adjective does not always have to be in the comparative form:
verarmen to become impoverished |
| Die ganze Gegend war völlig verarmt. The whole territory had fallen into poverty. |
verdeutschen to translate into Germen |
| Die Firma hat ihr Motto verdeutscht. The company translated its motto into German. |
vereinfachen to simplify |
| Man soll diese Anweisungen vereinfachen. They ought to make these instructions simpler. |
vergöttern to deify; to adore; to idolize |
| Er vergöttert seine Frau. He idolizes his wife. |
verhüllen to cloak |
| Siegfried verhüllte sich mit einer Tarnkappe. Siegfried covered himself with an cloak of invisibility. |
"ver-", when added to a noun, can create a verb that indicates using the noun to carry out a process: verkorken (to cork [a bottle]); vergiften (to poison); vergolden (to gild); vertonen (to set to music).
Like "be-", "ver-" can make an intransitive verb transitive: verfluchen (to curse); verlachen (to deride); verspotten (to mock).
Like "er-", "ver-" can suggest that a process is carried out beyond a particular point or to its conclusion:
| verbleiben (verblieb, verblieben) to stay or remain (permanently or after some other change) |
| Danach ist uns nur wenig Zeit verblieben. After that, only a little time remained to us. |
| Es verbleiben noch viele Probleme. Many problems still remain. |
verbüßen to serve out (a punishment) |
| Er wird eine hohe Strafe verbüßen müssen. He'll have to serve a long sentence. |
verhelfen (verhalf, verholfen [verhilft]) to aid; to help to accomplish |
| Wir haben ihm zur Flucht verholfen. We helped him to flee. |
verlesen (verlas, verlesen [verlässt]) to read out |
| Die Polizei muss ihm seine Rechte verlesen. The police have to read him his rights. |
versenken to sink (something) completely, irrevocably [as opposed to "senken" (to lower)] |
| Das U-Boot hat mehrere Schiffe versenkt. The submarine sank several ships. |
In many cases, adding "ver-" produces a subtle distinction in meaning, one that has sometimes been forgotten by contemporary speakers. See R. B. Farrell's Dictionary of German Synonyms (Cambridge UP) for discussions of, e.g.: ändern / verändern; ärgern / verärgern; bessern / verbessern; fallen / verfallen; sperren / versperren; wundern / verwundern
| Either we change ourselves, or the climate will change itself even faster. Elke Roßkamp / German Weather Service | |
