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versprechen

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: Versprechen

German

Etymology

From Middle High German versprechen (“to guarantee”), from Old High German firsprehhan (“to defend verbally, to warrant”), from Proto-West Germanic *frasprekan. Analyzable as ver- +‎ sprechen. The sense “to misspeak” is a later transparent derivation (see the prefix).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fərˈʃprɛçən/, [fɐˈʃpʁɛ.çn̩], [-çən], /fɛr-/, [fɛɐ̯-]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Audio (Germany (Berlin)):(file)

Verb

versprechen (class 4 strong, third-person singular present verspricht, past tense versprach, past participle versprochen, past subjunctive verspräche, auxiliary haben)

  1. (transitive) to promise
    Ich verspreche es dir.
    I promise you.
    (literally, “I promise it to you.”)
    Er hat versprochen, Kuchen mitzubringen.
    He’s promised to bring along cake.
    • 2010, Der Spiegel‎, number 52/2010, page 26:
      Wirtschaft und Regierung blicken mit Zuversicht ins nächste Jahr. 2011 verspricht eine Fortsetzung des Aufschwungs.
      Industry and government look with confidence into the next year. 2011 promises a continuation of the economic upswing.
  2. (transitive, dative reflexive) to expect (something positive); to hope for
    Ich verspreche mir viel davon.
    I expect a lot from it.
    (literally, “I promise myself a lot...”)
  3. (reflexive) to promise oneself [with dative ‘to someone’]
    Er hatte sich einer Frau versprochen und heiratete dann eine andere.
    He had promised himself to one woman and then married another.
  4. (reflexive) to make a verbal slip; to misspeak
    Entschuldigung, ich hatte mich versprochen. Ich meinte „hundert“, nicht „tausend“.
    Sorry, I misspoke. I meant “a hundred”, not “a thousand”.

Conjugation

Conjugation of versprechen (class 4 strong, auxiliary haben)
More information infinitive, present participle ...

1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.

Composed forms of versprechen (class 4 strong, auxiliary haben)
More information perfect, singular ...

Synonyms

Derived terms

Further reading

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