handeln
German
Etymology 1
From Middle High German handeln, from Old High German hantalōn, from Proto-Germanic *handlōną.
Pronunciation
Verb
- (intransitive) to act; to take action
- Jeder ist dafür verantwortlich, wie er handelt.
- Everybody is responsible for the way they act.
- Wir müssen handeln, bevor es zu spät ist.
- We must take action before it is too late.
- (intransitive) to negotiate; to bargain; to haggle
- Da lass ich nicht mit mir handeln.
- I won’t bargain about this.
- (intransitive with mit) to trade in; to deal; to sell
- Er handelt mit Teppichen. ― He trades in carpets.
- (transitive, stock exchange and the like) to trade
- Eine Aktiengesellschaft ist eine Firma, die an der Börse gehandelt wird.
- A stock company is an enterprise that is traded in the stock market.
- 2010, Der Spiegel, issue 46/2010, page 95:
- In Toronto werden mehr als 1400 Bergbaubetriebe gehandelt, jede Woche kommen im Schnitt drei Unternehmen hinzu.
- More than 1400 mining companies are traded in Toronto, three companies are added each week on average.
- In Toronto werden mehr als 1400 Bergbaubetriebe gehandelt, jede Woche kommen im Schnitt drei Unternehmen hinzu.
- (transitive, figurative) to tip as; to take into consideration as being
- Er wird als der nächste Superstar gehandelt.
- He’s being tipped as the next superstar.
- (intransitive, with von, of a person, formal, literary) to discuss; to deal with; to write or speak about
- Der Autor handelt auf 32 Seiten von dieser Nebensächlichkeit.
- The author discusses this marginal issue in 32 pages.
- (intransitive, with von, of a text, film, etc.) to be about; to deal with
- Das Buch handelt von Hasen. ― The book is about hares.
- (impersonal, reflexive, with um) to be
- Es handelt sich um ein Missverständnis.
- It is a misunderstanding.
- Bei diesen Tieren handelt es sich um Hasen.
- These animals are hares.
- (literally, “In these animals it deals itself about hares.”)
Conjugation
Related terms
See also
Further reading
- “handeln” in Duden online
Etymology 2
From English to handle. Doublet of handeln (“to act; to deal”).
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Verb
- (transitive, informal) to handle something; to control; to deal with in an organised fashion
- Synonyms: handhaben, bewältigen
- Wir müssen sehen, wie wir dieses Problem handeln.
- We must find a way of handling this problem.
Usage notes
- Rare in writing for confusability with etymology 1, but fairly common in speech, chiefly in business and media slang.
- The form händeln is sometimes used when quoting speech in writing.
Conjugation
Related terms
Further reading
- “handeln” in Duden online
Swedish
Noun
handeln
Categories:
- German terms inherited from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Middle High German
- German terms inherited from Old High German
- German terms derived from Old High German
- German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- German 2-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- German intransitive verbs
- German terms with usage examples
- German transitive verbs
- German formal terms
- German literary terms
- German impersonal verbs
- German reflexive verbs
- German terms borrowed from English
- German terms derived from English
- German doublets
- German informal terms
- Swedish non-lemma forms
- Swedish noun forms