The Meanings of the German Verb Ausmachen

The German verb machen is a very common regular verb with the basic meaning of to make or to do. It gets plenty of mileage all by itself, but by adding the prefix aus-, machen turns into something even more interesting — and takes on many more meanings. (It can add other prefixes, notably an-, but well concentrate on aus- here.) Understanding German verb prefixes is an important part of learning German vocabulary and German verb conjugation. As we shall see with ausmachen, a prefix can make BIG changes in the meaning of a German verb. Although the essential meaning of aus (which is also a dative preposition) is out and ausmachen can mean turn off/out (the light) or put out (a fire), that is only one of its many meanings (in German or English). Lets examine this versatile verb, which has no fewer than ten different meanings, depending on the context. The ten basic meanings listed below are generally ranked in the order of how frequently the verb is used in that meaning, but this is not an exact science. Each meaning also has one or more German synonyms listed along with the English meaning. Ausmachen (là ¶schen) English Meaning: to put out, extinguish, douseExample: Kannst du die Kerzen bitte ausmachen? (Can you please douse/extinguish the candles?) Ausmachen (abdrehen, ausschalten) English Meaning: to switch off, turn off(Note: The opposite is anmachen -- to switch on, turn on -- another verb with several different meanings.)Example 1: Machen Sie bitte das Licht / den Fernseher aus! (Please turn off the light / the TV.)Example 2: Sie mà ¼ssen das Gas zuerst ausmachen, bevor sie die Reparaturen machen kà ¶nnen. (They have to turn off the gas before they can make the repairs.) Ausmachen (stà ¶ren, à ¤rgern)(etw macht jdm etw aus) English Meaning: to bother (sb), mind, object toExample 1: Macht es Ihnen etwas aus, wenn ich rauche? (Do you mind if I smoke?)Example 2: Es macht mir nichts aus, ihm zu helfen. (I dont mind helping him.) Ausmachen (ermitteln, entdecken)(etw/jdn) English Meaning: to make out (sth/sb), spot, determineExample 1: Ich kann ihn nicht ausmachen, weil es zu dunkel ist. (I cant make him out because its too dark.)Example 2: Es ist noch nicht ausgemacht, dass er seinen eigenen Putsch politisch à ¼berlebt. (It hasnt yet been determined that he will survive his own coup politically.) Ausmachen (ins Gewicht fallen) English Meaning: to make a differenceExample 1: Was macht es schon aus? (What difference does it make?)Example 2: Es macht gar nichts aus! (It makes no difference at all!) Ausmachen (vereinbaren) English Meaning: to agree to, agree on, set up (appointment)Example 1: Wir mà ¼ssen nur noch ausmachen, wo wir uns treffen. (We just need to agree on where well meet.)Example 2: Wie ausgemacht, habe ich das Auto am Flughafen gelassen. (As agreed, I left the car at the airport.) Ausmachen (austragen) English Meaning: to sort (sth) out, settle (a case, a dispute, an issue, etc.)Example 1: Das mà ¼ssen wir mit ihm ausmachen. (We have to sort that out with him.)Example 2: Kà ¶nntet ihr diesen Streit nicht unter euch ausmachen? (Cant you guys settle this argument among yourselves?) Ausmachen (auszeichnen) English Meaning: to be (all) about, be the essence of sth, make (up) sth, make sth specialExample 1: Was macht das Leben aus? (What is life all about?)Example 2: Arbeit / Liebe macht das Leben aus. (Work/love is what lifes about.)Example 3: Ihm fehlt alles, was einen richtigen Manager ausmacht. (Hes missing everything that goes to make a real manager.) Ausmachen (betragen) English Meaning: to amount to, add up to, come toExample: Der Zeitunterschied macht neun Stunden aus. (The time difference is/amounts to nine hours.) Ausmachen (ausgraben) English Meaning: to dig up (dialect, regional)Example: Sie haben die Kartoffeln ausgemacht. (They dug up the potatoes.)