Fünf Verben mit „klären“ einfach erklärt
B1 German luyện nghe · Tiếng Đức · Phù hợp với người học trung cấp
What does “verklären” mean in German?
“verklären” looks related to “klären” (to clear something up) or “erklären” (to explain), but it means something different: to remember something as better or nicer than it really was. People who keep saying the past was always better are “verklärend” — they are not lying, they are just letting memory add a warm glow that was not really there.
From the clip: “Viele Menschen verklären zum Beispiel die Vergangenheit, indem sie immer wieder sagen, dass in der Vergangenheit alles besser war, obwohl das vielleicht gar nicht die Realität ist.” — “Many people paint the past in a better light, for example, by repeatedly saying that everything used to be better, even though that may not be reality at all.” The clip covers a whole “klären” family, so it is easy to mix them up. “klären” = clear something up (settle a misunderstanding). “erklären” = explain how something works. “verklären” works differently: in this word it means to make something — usually the past — seem better than it really was. (Don’t read the “ver-” as a general rule; just learn this verb’s meaning.) More examples: “Er verklärt seine Schulzeit” — he looks back on his school days as if they were the best years of his life. “Mit der Zeit verklärt man schwere Momente” — over time, hard moments get remembered as better than they were. Usage note: it is a bit formal, but you will hear it in talk about memory, nostalgia, and how people think about the past.