German word

kehren

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈkeːʁən/

Meaning

  • verbsweep

Example

Ich kehre jeden Morgen den Flur.

I sweep the hallway every morning.

Illustration for kehren (sweep)

More examples

Im Herbst kehren wir jeden Abend das Laub vor dem Haus.

In autumn, we sweep the leaves in front of the house every evening.

Core concept

A broom gathers loose dirt by pushing it in one direction, while the same directional idea can describe turning back.

Common phrases

  • das Zimmer kehren

    sweep the room

  • die Küche kehren

    sweep the kitchen

  • das Laub kehren

    sweep the leaves

Similar words

fegen: To sweep dirt into a pile on the floor with a broom.
saugen: To suck up floor dirt and dust with a vacuum cleaner.
wischen: To wipe dirt or liquid from a floor using water and a cloth.
aufräumen: To restore order by putting items in their proper places.

Definition in German

Mit dem Besen Schmutz oder Staub vom Boden zusammenkehren und entfernen.

Word origin

German kehren comes from Old High German keran and Middle High German keren, verbs related to turning or changing direction; the sweeping sense developed from this movement.

Usage tips

  • The compound zurueckkehren means returning, and its prefix is separable in finite clauses: Sie kehrt zurueck.

Opposites

  • vermüllenlitterverb

Related words

  • Kehrbesenbroomnoun
  • Kehrichtsweepingsnoun
  • Kehrersweepernoun

Word lists with this word