bezahlen vs zahlen
German word comparison
Listen to bezahlen
Listen to zahlen
| bezahlen | zahlen |
|---|---|
be-ZAH-len verb (transitive) | /ˈtsaːlən/ verb (transitive) |
| to pay (a bill, price, or cost) | to pay (general, neutral verb for giving money) |
How they differ
Zahlen is the more basic, neutral verb for the act of giving money and is extremely common in speech; bezahlen often emphasizes settling a specific bill or paying for a particular item. In many contexts they are interchangeable, but zahlen is also used in set phrases about amounts or when no specific object is mentioned (e.g. 'zahlen müssen').
When to use each
When to use bezahlen: Prefer bezahlen when you want to emphasize paying for a particular thing (e.g. settling a bill or paying for an item).
When to use zahlen: Prefer zahlen for everyday, general statements about paying or when speaking about amounts without naming a specific object.
Side-by-side examples
- Ich bezahle die Rechnung.
(I pay/settle the bill.) - Ich zahle bar.
(I'll pay in cash.)
Register & nuance: Zahlen is equally neutral/informal as bezahlen and is more frequent in everyday speech; both are standard German.
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- See the Word of the Day entry for zahlen
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