beeilen

§ What Does 'beeilen' Mean?

Definition

To hurry; to rush. This is a reflexive verb, so it always needs a 'sich' (or mich, dich, uns, euch, sich) with it. Think of it as 'to hurry oneself'.

Alright, let's talk about the German verb beeilen. It's a useful one because, well, sometimes you just need to hurry! It means 'to hurry' or 'to rush'. It's super common in everyday German. You'll hear it a lot in different situations, whether it's at work, at school, or even just in casual conversations with friends. The key thing to remember is that it's a reflexive verb. This means it always comes with a reflexive pronoun like sich (for 'he', 'she', 'it', 'they') or mich (me), dich (you), uns (us), euch (you all).

§ Why is it Reflexive?

The reflexive part can trip up English speakers. In English, we just say 'I hurry'. In German, you literally 'hurry yourself'. So, you say Ich beeile mich (I hurry myself), Du beeilst dich (You hurry yourself), Er/Sie/Es beeilt sich (He/She/It hurries himself/herself/itself), and so on. Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it with practice!

§ 'beeilen' in Action: Everyday Examples

Let's look at some practical examples so you can see how beeilen is used. These are the kinds of sentences you'll actually hear and use.

• At Work:

  Wir müssen uns beeilen, sonst verpassen wir die Frist.

  Translation hint: We must hurry ourselves, otherwise we miss the deadline.

  Kannst du dich bitte beeilen? Der Chef wartet.

  Translation hint: Can you please hurry yourself? The boss is waiting.

• At School:

  Die Schüler müssen sich beeilen, der Unterricht beginnt gleich.

  Translation hint: The students must hurry themselves, the lesson begins soon.

  Bitte beeilt euch mit den Hausaufgaben!

  Translation hint: Please hurry yourselves with the homework!

• In the News/General Conversations:

  Die Rettungskräfte beeilen sich zum Unfallort.

  Translation hint: The rescue workers hurry themselves to the accident site.

  Wir müssen uns beeilen, um den Zug noch zu erreichen.

  Translation hint: We must hurry ourselves to still catch the train.

§ Quick Tip for Remembering

So, there you have it. Beeilen is a straightforward verb once you get the reflexive part down. Don't overthink it, just use it! The more you hear it and say it, the more natural it will become. Keep practicing, and soon you'll be telling people to beeil dich! (hurry up!) like a native speaker.

§ What does beeilen mean?

German Word

beeilen (reflexive verb)

English Definition

to hurry; to rush

CEFR Level

A2

The German verb beeilen means to hurry or to rush. It's a reflexive verb, which means it always needs a reflexive pronoun like sich (yourself, himself, herself, itself, yourselves, themselves) or mich (myself), dich (yourself), etc. You'll use it when you need to speed something up or when someone needs to move faster.

§ How to use beeilen in sentences

Let's look at some examples to see how beeilen works in different contexts. Pay attention to the reflexive pronoun and how it changes with the subject.

§ Similar words and when to use this one vs alternatives

While beeilen is a great word for 'to hurry,' German offers other ways to express a similar idea. Knowing the nuances will help you choose the best word for the situation.

• Eilen: This is a non-reflexive verb that also means 'to hurry' or 'to rush.' It's often used in more formal contexts or when the action of hurrying is not directly reflecting back on the subject. For instance, you might say, "Die Zeit eilt" (Time is rushing/short), but not "Ich eile mich." You can also use it to describe something rushing, like a river.

In this case, eilen is used without a reflexive pronoun. While it conveys urgency, beeilen emphasizes the personal effort of speeding up.

• Sich sputen: This is another reflexive verb meaning 'to hurry' or 'to make haste.' It's a bit less common in everyday speech than beeilen but still perfectly understandable. It can sometimes carry a slightly more old-fashioned or formal tone.

You can see that sich sputen is very similar in meaning and usage to sich beeilen. When in doubt, sich beeilen is usually the safer and more common choice.

• Sich auf den Weg machen: This phrase literally means 'to make one's way' but is often used in the sense of 'to get going' or 'to set off,' implying a need to hurry to start a journey or task. It's more about beginning something promptly than speeding up an ongoing action.

Here, the focus is on starting the journey with some urgency, rather than just hurrying in general. You wouldn't use sich beeilen in this specific context to mean 'to set off.' You could, however, use sich beeilen if you are already on the way and need to go faster.

In summary, beeilen is your most common and versatile choice for 'to hurry' or 'to rush' when referring to a person or people. Remember its reflexive nature. While eilen and sich sputen are valid alternatives, they have slightly different connotations or frequency of use. Understanding these distinctions will help you sound more natural and precise in your German.