German

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Etymology

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From aus- +‎ sprechen.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈaʊ̯sˌʃprɛçən/, [ˈʔäo̯(s)ˌʃpʁɛçn̩]
  • Hyphenation: aus‧spre‧chen
  • Audio:(file)

Verb

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aussprechen (class 4 strong, third-person singular present spricht aus, past tense sprach aus, past participle ausgesprochen, past subjunctive spräche aus, auxiliary haben)

  1. (transitive) to pronounce (sound a word, give it a pronunciation)
    Die Süddeutschen sprechen die Buchstaben b, d, g stimmlos aus.
    Southern Germans [incl. Austrians, Swiss, etc.] pronounce the letters b, d, g without voice.
  2. (reflexive) to be pronounced; to have a certain pronunciation
    Wie spricht sich das aus?
    How is this pronounced? / How do you say this?
  3. (transitive) to pronounce (e.g. a verdict); but not used as freely as in English
    Das Gericht hat eine sehr milde Strafe ausgesprochen.
    The court has pronounced a very lenient sentence.
  4. (transitive) to utter; to articulate (especially something awkward or hitherto secret)
    Sie sprach aus, was wir alle dachten.
    She uttered what we were all thinking.
  5. (reflexive) to declare oneself in favour of; to declare oneself for; to recommend [with für]
    Die Experten haben sich für diese Lösung ausgesprochen.
    The experts have declared themselves in favour of this solution.
  6. (intransitive) to say everything one wants to say; to finish
    Lasst ihn erst mal aussprechen, bevor ihr über ihn herfallt.
    Let him finish first before you lay into him.
  7. (reflexive) to pour one's heart out; to disbosom oneself [with bei]
    Es hat gutgetan, mich mal richtig bei dir auszusprechen.
    It's been good to really pour my heart out to you.
  8. (reflexive) to talk things out (resolve a problem by talking) [with mit]
    Ich habe mich mit ihr ausgesprochen und jetzt verstehen wir uns bestens.
    I've talked things out with her and now we get along very well.

Usage notes

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  • Except in the sense “to finish”, the German verb is never intransitive. Hence, for “he pronounces clearly” one will say: er spricht deutlich, or: er hat eine deutliche Aussprache. Neither can aussprechen be used for English speak out.

Conjugation

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Further reading

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