German Conversation · Level 94
59 words
German word
anweisen
Pronunciation
IPA/ˈanvaɪ̯zn̩/
Meaning
- verbinstruct
Example
Der Chef weist die Mitarbeiter an, pünktlich zu kommen.
The boss instructs the employees to arrive on time.
More examples
Der Kunde weist seine Bank an, den Betrag sofort auf das ausländische Konto zu überweisen.
The customer orders his bank to transfer the amount immediately to the foreign account.
Core concept
A superior points a person toward a required action, while an institution can direct a payment to its recipient.
Common phrases
Geld auf ein Konto anweisen
instruct that money be transferred to an account
den Lieferanten anweisen, die Lieferung zu verschieben
order the supplier to postpone the delivery
Similar words
bitten: Ask courteously for someone to do something.
auffordern: Officially request that someone perform a particular action.
Definition in German
formell jemanden anweisen, eine Aufgabe zu erfüllen; speziell: eine Zahlung in Auftrag geben
Word origin
Anweisen combines the separable prefix an- with Germanic weisen, 'to point' or 'show', and its financial sense developed from directing money to someone.
Usage tips
- As a separable verb, anweisen appears as weist ... an in the present tense, as in weist die Mitarbeiter an.