German edit

Etymology edit

From Middle High German offenen, from Old High German offanōn, from Proto-West Germanic *opanōn, from Proto-Germanic *upanōną. Compare Dutch openen and English open.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈʔœfnən/
  • Hyphenation: öff‧nen
  • (Germany)
    (file)
  • (Germany)
    (file)
  • (Austria)
    (file)

Verb edit

öffnen (weak, third-person singular present öffnet, past tense öffnete, past participle geöffnet, auxiliary haben)

  1. (transitive) to open (to make something accessible or allow for passage by moving from a shut position)
    Das Kind öffnete die Fenster.The child opened the windows.
  2. (transitive) to open (to make accessible to customers or clients)
  3. (transitive, computing) to open (to load into memory for viewing or editing)
  4. (intransitive) to open, get, or answer the door
  5. (reflexive) to open (to become open)
  6. (reflexive) to open up (to), confide (in) (to reveal oneself; share personal information about oneself)

Usage notes edit

While öffnen isn't explicitly formal, it is fairly infrequent in everyday spoken language, typically replaced by the colloquial aufmachen.

Conjugation edit

Synonyms edit

Antonyms edit

Related terms edit

Further reading edit

  • öffnen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • öffnen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
  • öffnen” in Duden online
  • öffnen” in OpenThesaurus.de