German word

begehen

Pronunciation

IPA/bəˈgeːən/

Meaning

  • verbmake a mistake

Example

Er beging gestern einen Fehler.

He made a mistake yesterday.

Illustration for begehen (make a mistake)

More examples

Wir begehen heute einen Feiertag.

We are celebrating a holiday today.

Core concept

An act is carried all the way to a definite result, whether it is harmful, mistaken, or festive.

Similar words

machen: Make or do something through a concrete, practical action.
tun: Carry out an action or deed in a general sense.
verüben: Deliberately commit a crime or other harmful act.

Definition in German

begehen bezeichnet das vollendete Ausführen einer Handlung; es verlangt ein direktes Objekt und tritt in Wendungen wie ein Verbrechen begehen, Selbstmord begehen oder einen Jahrestag begehen auf

Word origin

Begehen comes through Middle High German begehen from Old High German bigān, a be- formation of gehen whose senses developed toward carrying out an act.

Usage tips

  • Begehen is transitive and takes an accusative object, as in 'einen Fehler begehen'; its past forms are beging and begangen.

Other meanings

  • celebrateverb

Word lists with this word