German word

beruhigen

Pronunciation

IPA/bəˈʁuːɪgn̩/

Meaning

  • verbcalm

Example

Die Mutter beruhigt das weinende Kind.

The mother calms the crying child.

Illustration for beruhigen (calm)

More examples

Er beruhigt seinen Freund nach einer schlechten Nachricht.

He calms his friend after some bad news.

Core concept

A distressed person moves from alarm toward emotional steadiness through a calm voice, gesture, or reassuring action.

Common phrases

  • die Nerven beruhigen

    calm the nerves

  • jemanden beruhigen

    calm someone

Similar words

trösten: To soothe someone who is sad or grieving.
besänftigen: To quiet anger or opposition and make a person more agreeable.
entspannen: To loosen bodily or emotional tension and encourage a relaxed state.
abkühlen: To slowly cool intense emotions or the charged mood of a situation.

Definition in German

durch Worte, Gesten oder Verhalten Unruhe, Angst oder Aufregung bei Personen oder Situationen verringern

Word origin

Beruhigen derives from the adjective ruhig by adding the German prefix be- and the infinitive ending -en, creating a verb with a causative sense.

Usage tips

  • Sich beruhigen means to calm down, while jemanden beruhigen means to calm or reassure someone else, so the reflexive form changes the construction.

Other meanings

  • sootheverb
  • reassureverb

Opposites

Related words

  • Beruhigungcalmnessnoun
  • beruhigendsoothingadjective
  • Beruhigungsmittelsedativenoun

Word lists with this word