buchstabieren
German
Etymology
From Buchstabe (“letter”) + -ieren (“-ise, -ify”).
Pronunciation
Verb
- (usually transitive) to spell (name the letters of a word)
Usage notes
- The German verb generally implies an actual naming of the letters and is not used in the sense of “write out in a particular way”, for which schreiben is used. Thus: Pass auf, dass du alles richtig schreibst! (“Be careful to spell (everything) correctly!”) Moreover, buchstabieren is not used of letters themselves. You say, for example: Die Buchstaben A-X-T bilden das Wort „Axt“. (“The letters A-X-T spell the word ‘Axt’.”) Or: A-X-T ergibt „Axt“. (“A-X-T spells ‘Axt’.”)
Conjugation
Derived terms
Further reading
- “buchstabieren” in Duden online