German Word of the Day
erklären
er-KLÄ-ren • verb — 22nd of Apr, 2026
Listen to pronunciation
Meaning: to explain; to make something clear or understandable
Examples
- Kannst du mir das bitte erklären?
(Can you explain that to me, please?) - Der Lehrer erklärte den Schülern die neue Grammatikregel.
(The teacher explained the new grammar rule to the students.) - Sie hat mir nicht erklärt, warum das passiert ist.
(She didn't explain to me why that happened.)
Synonyms
- erläutern
- darlegen
Conjugation
| Person | Präsens | Präteritum |
|---|---|---|
| ich | erkläre | erklärte |
| du | erklärst | erklärtest |
| er/sie/es | erklärt | erklärte |
| wir | erklären | erklärten |
| ihr | erklärt | erklärtet |
| sie/Sie | erklären | erklärten |
See all 6 tenses of erklären →
Use erklären when you want to describe or clarify facts, reasons, instructions, or meanings. It works in both spoken and written German and is slightly more formal than simply saying something; note that it's a regular, non-separable verb (ich erkläre, er hat erklärt).
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