German Conversation · Level 118
45 words
German word
umkehren
Pronunciation
IPA/ˈʊmˌkeːʁən/
Meaning
- verbturn back
Example
Wir kehren jetzt um.
We are turning back now.
More examples
Die Wanderer kehren am Fluss um.
The hikers are turning back at the river.
Core concept
A moving course swings around and heads back, while an ordered sequence flips from first to last.
Common phrases
den Weg umkehren
turn back along the route
vor der Grenze umkehren
turn back before the border
die Reihenfolge umkehren
reverse the order
Similar words
zurückkehren: Coming back to the place from which the journey began.
zurückgehen: Retracing a route on foot or by another means of travel.
zurückfahren: Going back to the departure point in a car or other vehicle.
wenden: Turning from the current course to travel in the opposite direction.
Definition in German
Trennbares Verb; (intransitiv) Kurs ändern und zurückgehen; (transitiv) etwas komplett in die entgegengesetzte Reihenfolge bringen.
Word origin
German umkehren combines the separable prefix um-, meaning around or back, with inherited Germanic kehren, meaning turn.
Usage tips
- As a separable verb, umkehren appears as kehren ... um in a main clause, as in 'Wir kehren jetzt um.'
Other meanings
- reverseverb
- invertverb
Opposites
- weiterfahrencontinue drivingverb
- vorwärtsfahrendrive forwardverb
Related words
- Umkehrturning backnoun
- Umkehrungreversalnoun
- umkehrbarreversibleadjective