knacken
Appearance
German
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle High German knacken, probably ultimately related to Proto-West Germanic *knokōn (“to knock”). Related to Middle Low German knaken, knakken, knacken, German Low German knacken. Compare also Middle Low German knicken (“to bend, snap”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Audio: (file)
Verb
[edit]knacken (weak, third-person singular present knackt, past tense knackte, past participle geknackt, auxiliary haben)
- (intransitive) to make a cracking sound
- Synonym: knacksen
- Die Wurst knackte beim Reinbeissen. ― The sausage made a cracking sound when bitten.
- (transitive) to crack (open)
- Er knackte die Nuss. ― He cracked the nut.
- (transitive, figuratively) to crack (a mystery, secret, etc.); to persuade (to reveal something)
- Sie knackte den Code. ― She cracked the code.
- Ich kann ihn knacken. ― I can get him to open up.
- (transitive) to pick (a lock)
- (intransitive, chiefly Germany, regional, informal) to sleep
- Mach' nicht solchen Lärm, er knackt gerade. ― Don't make such a noise, he's sleeping.
Conjugation
[edit]infinitive | knacken | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | knackend | ||||
past participle | geknackt | ||||
auxiliary | haben | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich knacke | wir knacken | i | ich knacke | wir knacken |
du knackst | ihr knackt | du knackest | ihr knacket | ||
er knackt | sie knacken | er knacke | sie knacken | ||
preterite | ich knackte | wir knackten | ii | ich knackte1 | wir knackten1 |
du knacktest | ihr knacktet | du knacktest1 | ihr knacktet1 | ||
er knackte | sie knackten | er knackte1 | sie knackten1 | ||
imperative | knack (du) knacke (du) |
knackt (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]Categories:
- German terms inherited from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- German terms with audio pronunciation
- German lemmas
- German verbs
- German weak verbs
- German verbs using haben as auxiliary
- German intransitive verbs
- German terms with usage examples
- German transitive verbs
- German German
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