Before you start
Meet aussehen
Read how the verb is used, then write your own 10 sentences with it.
All 5 meanings
- (copulative) to look, seem [with adjective ‘in a given state’ or wie (+ nominative) ‘like someone/something’]
- (to point to, to be suggestive or indicative of) [with nach (+ dative) ‘like someone/something’]
- (intransitive, colloquial) to look good or bad; depending on intonation
- (intransitive) to look out, to watch out [with nach (+ dative) ‘for someone/something’]
- (transitive, usually with dative reflexive, possibly dated) to look for and find; to pick; to select
Build the meaning
aus- + sehen
- aus-
- outward, as something presented to view
- sehen
- to see
How someone or something “looks” is how it appears when viewed.
So aussehen means to look; to appear.
A memory aid, not a rule: prefixes change meaning from verb to verb.
Learning approach inspired by this explanation in r/German.
Separable verb: aus·sehen
In a main clause the prefix aus splits off and goes to the end. After weil, dass and other subordinating words, the verb stays in one piece at the end.
Main clauseDer Hund sieht freundlich aus.The dog looks friendly.
Subordinate clause…, weil der Hund freundlich aussieht.…, because the dog looks friendly.
Participle: ausgesehenzu-infinitive: auszusehen
Forms
How aussehen changes
| Pronoun | Präsens | Präteritum |
|---|---|---|
| ich | sehe aus | sah aus |
| du | siehst aus | sahst aus |
| er/sie/es | sieht aus | sah aus |
| wir | sehen aus | sahen aus |
| ihr | seht aus | saht aus |
| Sie | sehen aus | sahen aus |
Partizip II ausgesehen · Perfekt with haben
Three examples
- 1Du siehst heute müde aus.You look tired today.present tense, prefix at end
- 2Das Haus hat schön ausgesehen.The house looked beautiful.Perfekt with haben
- 3Ich weiß, wie das Essen aussieht.I know what the food looks like.verb at the end
Verb family
More verbs built on sehen
Same base verb, a different prefix, a new meaning.