kauen
See also: käuen
German edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Middle High German kūwen, kiuwen, kewen, from Old High German kūwen, kiuwan, from Proto-West Germanic *keuwan.
The form shows the Central German development of Middle High German -iuw- → -ūw-, which is only sporadically reflected in the modern standard language (compare brauen). The expected form can still be found in the compound wiederkäuen (“to chew the cud”). Cognate with Dutch kauwen, Low German käwwen, West Frisian koaie, kôgje, English chew.
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
kauen (weak, third-person singular present kaut, past tense kaute, past participle gekaut, auxiliary haben)
- (transitive) to chew (something)
- (intransitive, with an + dative) to chew on (something), to gnaw
- (usually with an) to bite (nails)
- Er kaut an den/seinen Nägeln.
- Er kaut seine Nägel. (Less common)
- He bites his nails.
Conjugation edit
infinitive | kauen | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | kauend | ||||
past participle | gekaut | ||||
auxiliary | haben | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich kaue | wir kauen | i | ich kaue | wir kauen |
du kaust | ihr kaut | du kauest | ihr kauet | ||
er kaut | sie kauen | er kaue | sie kauen | ||
preterite | ich kaute | wir kauten | ii | ich kaute1 | wir kauten1 |
du kautest | ihr kautet | du kautest1 | ihr kautet1 | ||
er kaute | sie kauten | er kaute1 | sie kauten1 | ||
imperative | kau (du) kaue (du) |
kaut (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.