German word

rühren

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈʁyːʁən/

Meaning

  • verbstir

Example

Ich rühre die Soße.

I stir the sauce.

Illustration for rühren (stir)

More examples

Die Szene rührte ihn zu Tränen.

The scene moved him to tears.

Core concept

A hand or emotion disturbs stillness, either by moving material together or by affecting a person's feelings.

Common phrases

  • die Soße rühren

    stir the sauce

  • mit dem Löffel rühren

    stir with a spoon

  • jemanden rühren

    move someone

Similar words

umrühren: Circular movement of a spoon through ingredients in a pot or bowl.
verrühren: Mixing several ingredients thoroughly until they are evenly combined.
mischen: Joining different ingredients to form one mixture.
schlagen: Whisking rapidly to add air and make the mixture light and fluffy.

Definition in German

Etwas durch Rühren vermengen; im übertragenen Sinn jemanden emotional bewegen.

Word origin

Rühren is an inherited Germanic verb that passed through Old High German ruoren and Middle High German rüeren before reaching its modern form.

Usage tips

  • The prefix verb anrühren means to touch or handle something, while nicht anrühren means not to touch it.

Other meanings

  • moveverb
  • touchverb

Opposites

  • kaltlassenleave unmovedverb
  • stillstehenstand stillverb

Related words

  • rührendmovingadjective
  • die Rührungemotionnoun
  • das Rührenstirringnoun

Word lists with this word