German word

schenken

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈʃɛŋkən/

Meaning

  • verbgive

Example

Ich schenke dir zum Geburtstag ein Buch.

I'm giving you a book for your birthday.

Illustration for schenken (give)

More examples

Wir schenken unseren Nachbarn einen Kuchen.

We give our neighbors a cake.

Core concept

A person places a chosen object into another person's hands as a gesture of generosity or delight.

Common phrases

  • jemandem etwas schenken

    give someone something

  • Blumen schenken

    give flowers

  • einem Kind ein Spielzeug schenken

    give a child a toy

Similar words

geben: To hand an item to someone in a general act of giving.
mitbringen: To bring something along and hand it to someone.
verschenken: To give an item to someone as a gift.

Definition in German

jemandem etwas geben, besonders als Geschenk oder zur Freude

Word origin

Schenken comes from Old High German scencan, a verb associated with pouring out or offering, and its meaning developed toward presenting something as a gift.

Usage tips

  • The recipient is normally in the dative and the gift in the accusative, as in jemandem etwas schenken.

Other meanings

  • presentverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word