German word

vorstellen

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈfoːɐ̯ˌʃtɛlən/

Meaning

  • verbintroduce

Example

Er stellt seine neue Kollegin vor.

He introduces his new colleague.

Illustration for vorstellen (introduce)

More examples

Heute stellt Mia ihren Hund vor.

Today Mia introduces her dog.

Am Anfang stellte sie sich mit Namen vor.

At first, she introduced herself by name.

Core concept

A person or thing is set before an audience or an inner scene so that it becomes recognizable there.

Common phrases

  • sich mit Namen vorstellen

    introduce oneself by name

  • jemanden kurz vorstellen

    briefly introduce someone

Similar words

sich vorstellen: Giving one's own name, job, or other details when meeting someone.
kennenlernen: Meeting someone and gradually getting to know each other.
begrüßen: Greeting and welcoming someone when meeting them.
zeigen: Showing someone an object's location or what a place looks like.

Definition in German

eine Person oder Sache jemandem nennen und bekannt machen; sich selbst kurz vorstellen; etwas bildlich vorstellen

Word origin

Vorstellen is formed from vor and stellen, and its literal sense of placing before led to the related senses of presenting and imagining.

Usage tips

  • In the sense 'imagine', sich etwas vorstellen takes sich as a dative reflexive pronoun and the imagined thing as an accusative object.

Other meanings

  • introduce oneselfverb
  • give one's nameverb
  • imagineverb

Related words

Word lists with this word