Last Updated on March 1, 2023
In this thread, synonyms with the meaning “receive” are in the center. These are the words erhalten or bekommen and also kriegen, beziehen and erlangen. In addition, let’s take a look at enthalten – the word that is always confused with erhalten.
Let’s start with the simplest.
SS or ß in German
Use: difference between benutzen and verwenden, nutzen, gebrauchen, anwenden
Negation in German
Difference between merken and bemerken and other words for memory and notice
Conjunctions in sentences. Different word order
kriegen
This word is used in colloquial speech.
Quite often it has a connotation of “grab”, “obtain”, “get” (= get prey), that is, it has some kind of aggressive meaning. And this is no accident, because the word comes from the word Krieg (war) – I fought, quarreled and got what I wanted. However, no less often this additional meaning is no longer heard.
Geld, Prozente, Zinsen kriegen
einen Brief, eine Erlaubnis, eine Nachricht kriegen
er kann niemals genug kriegen
Arbeit kriegen
Strafe kriegen
endlich kriegen wir etwas Warmes in den Magen
er hat Fieber, einen Herzanfall gekriegt
bekommen
The most neutral word that can be used in all cases. For any doubts, choose bekommen and you can’t go wrong. Be-kommen also has a clear internal form – “it came to me”.
Geld, ein Geschenk bekommen
Besuch, Gäste bekommen
einen Mann, ein Kind bekommen
Einblick, Kenntnis bekommen
sein Leben hat einen neuen Sinn bekommen
etwas zu essen bekommen
eine Krankheit bekommen
Angst, einen Schreck, eine Gänsehaut, Lust, Mut bekommen
beziehen
One of the meanings of this word is to receive on a regular basis. The word is often used when talking about money and benefits.
ein hohes Gehalt, gute Einkünfte beziehen
seinen Lohn, eine Sozialhilfe, Rente, Pension beziehen
erlangen
This word is close to kriegen in its older meaning, but at the same time it is high and not colloquial. The word comes from lang, remember also verlangen (to demand, pull your long arms for smth) – and, accordingly, reach for erlangen
die Doktorwürde erlangen
einen Vorteil erlangen
der Künstler erlangte Weltberühmtheit
Read about different #insurance in Germany and what does public health insurance cover in Germany
erhalten
This word refers to a higher style. The inner form is no less clear – er-halten (I hold it because I gave it). Unlike bekommen (came), erhalten means “hold”, so some combinations are impossible for it, for example with Angst – fear may come, but you can not hold it.
Geld, ein Geschenk erhalten – the same meaning, but different style
einen Brief, Bescheid, Gruß erhalten
eine Antwort, Nachricht erhalten
einen Begriff, eine Vorstellung, einen Eindruck von etw. erhalten
einen Verweis ins Klassenbuch erhalten
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The word also has a meaning, where “I hold” becomes a priority – in the sense I keep:
die Vitamine in den Speisen erhalten.
It is because of this second meaning that we confuse it with enthalten – to contain:
diese Mappe enthält das vollständige Manuskript.
To be less confused, let’s try to remember that er– prefix implies a goal or a win.
All topics about #synonyms.
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