German word

bevölkern

Pronunciation

IPA/bəˈfœlkɐn/

Meaning

  • verbfill with people

Example

Bald bevölkerten Händler und Kunden die Gänge des Marktes.

Soon, merchants and customers filled the market aisles.

Illustration for bevölkern (fill with people)

More examples

Heutzutage bevölkern Künstler die ehemaligen Fabrikviertel.

Nowadays, artists populate the former factory districts.

Core concept

A location gains a human presence as people gather or settle throughout it.

Common phrases

  • ein Gebiet bevölkern

    populate an area

  • die Küstenorte bevölkern

    populate the coastal towns

Similar words

füllen: To fill a space or container with contents.
bewohnen: To live in a place as a permanent home.
beleben: To add people or activity that gives a place a lively atmosphere.

Definition in German

bevölkern bedeutet, einen Raum durch Menschen zu besiedeln, sei es vorübergehend oder dauerhaft.

Word origin

The word is a derived verb based on Volk, 'people', whose form includes be- and the suffix -ern.

Usage tips

  • Bevölkern forms its perfect with haben and its past participle is bevölkert, without the prefix ge-.

Other meanings

  • inhabitverb
  • settleverb

Opposites

  • entvölkerndepopulateverb

Related words

  • Bevölkerungpopulationnoun
  • bevölkerungsreichdensely populatedadjective

Word lists with this word