anhaben

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈanˌhaːbən/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: an‧ha‧ben

Verb

1. to wear; to have on; see usage notes

   Er hat keine Sandalen an.

   He doesn’t have sandals on.

   Er hat fast nie Sandalen an.

   He almost never wears sandals.

2. (slightly informal) to have turned on; to have on (an electronic device)

   Ich hatte das Radio an.

   I had the radio on.

3. (infinitive only, construed with indefinite pronoun) to harm

   Der Hund kann dir nichts anhaben.

   The dog can’t harm you.

   Meinst du, er will mir was anhaben?

   Do you think he wants to harm me?

Usage notes

• As with English “have on”, German anhaben is understood as progressive (“to be wearing”), unless some adverb suggests otherwise. This is distinct from tragen. Hence, Er trägt keine Sandalen could also be a general statement (“He doesn’t wear sandals.”).
• With headgear, aufhaben is preferred instead (though anhaben is not impossible either).

Derived terms

• Anhaben
• die Hosen anhaben

Further reading

• “anhaben” in Duden online