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benehmen

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Benehmen

German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German benëmen, from Old High German bineman, from Proto-West Germanic *bineman, from Proto-Germanic *binemaną. Equivalent to be- +‎ nehmen. Compare English benim.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /bəˈneːmn̩/, /bəˈneːmən/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: be‧neh‧men

Verb

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benehmen (class 4 strong, third-person singular present benimmt, past tense benahm, past participle benommen, past subjunctive benähme, auxiliary haben)

  1. (reflexive, copulative) to behave, to act, to conduct oneself (in a certain way - specifically in a good/appropriate way if not otherwise specified)
    Synonyms: (dated) betragen, verhalten
    Manche Leute können sich einfach nicht benehmen.
    Some people simply cannot behave themselves.
    Manchmal benimmt er sich echt wie ein Kind.
    Sometimes he really acts like a child.
  2. (ditransitive, archaic) to take away (especially in an abstract sense)
    Synonyms: nehmen, rauben
    • 1962 [1912-1914], Ricarda Huch, chapter 4, in Der Dreißigjährige Krieg. Dritter Teil: Der Zusammenbruch, Insel-Verlag:
      Holk stand auf und öffnete das Fenster. »Mit Euer Exzellenz Erlaubnis,« sagte er, »der unleidliche Geruch benimmt mir den Atem.«
      Holk arose and opened the window. "With your excellency's leave", he said, "this intolerable smell is taking my breath away."

Usage notes

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  • The verb benehmen focuses on behavior of people in a social context and the acceptability thereof, while verhalten is a broader term to describe of the behavior of people, animals or systems in general.

Conjugation

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • benehmen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • benehmen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
  • benehmen” in Duden online
  • benehmen” in OpenThesaurus.de