Could we have a feature similar to the selecting phrases one but for separate words instead that are related like separable verbs in German?
Something like this but better of course lol maybe a small dotted line that works similar to the phrase feature showing the separable verbs meaning when clicked as a whole
Ausgezeichnete Idee. Отличная идея. Great idea!
This has been asked before several times, actually, so I guess it is unlikely to happen anytime soon. But who knows.
As a native German speaker and a learner of languages working quiet different from German and English, I’d like to make a suggestion, if I may. You eventually have to get your head around the mechanics of the language you are learning, and relying too much on technical aids might be counterproductive. What I mean is that there is no guarantee that if the feature you suppose would exist, you would learn the language faster.
As a German, when reading the sentence, upon reaching the word legt there are a couple of prepositions (like “auf”) that could come at the end of the clause, modifying the meaning of the word “legt”. And I won’t know which one it is until I completed reading the clause, although I could guess the preposition to come based on the following words and the context. However, the word “auf” doesn’t contain the basic information here, it is merely a modifier. So instead of trying to learn the meaning of the word auflegen or LingQing it, it might be a better approach to learn the meaning of the word legen and auf seperately. If you come across a new verb, you could try to look up words that feature the respective seperable main part to see what those verbs have in common. You could proceed the same way regarding the preposition. You can use an online dictionary, or AI like this:
1. List german seperable verbs that contain the word “legen”.
2. List german seperable verbs that contain the prefix “auf”.Below are concise, linguistically correct lists of German separable verbs for each request. I’ve excluded inseparable verbs (e.g. belegen, überlegen, verlegen) and focused on standard modern usage.
1. German separable verbs containing legen
(All of these split in finite forms: ich lege …, … gelegt.)
Verb Meaning ablegen to put down, take off (clothes), complete anlegen to put on, invest, create auflegen to put on (music), hang up (phone), impose auslegen to lay out, display, interpret beilegen to enclose, settle (a dispute) darlegen to explain, set forth einlegen to insert, pickle, take a break festlegen to determine, define hinlegen to lie down, put down niederlegen to lay down, resign vorlegen to present, submit weglegen to put away zulegen to acquire, gain zurĂĽcklegen to put back, cover (a distance) zusammenlegen to pool, combine
Note: Verbs like belegen, ĂĽberlegen, verlegen are inseparable and therefore intentionally excluded.
2. German separable verbs with the prefix auf-
(The prefix auf- always separates in these verbs.)
Verb Meaning aufmachen to open aufstehen to stand up, get up aufgehen to open, rise aufbauen to build up aufgeben to give up, submit aufhören to stop aufnehmen to record, take in aufsetzen to put on, draft aufziehen to raise, wind, bring up aufkommen to arise aufbringen to raise (funds), muster aufklären to clarify, educate aufpassen to pay attention aufräumen to tidy up aufschreiben to write down aufschließen to unlock aufstoßen to push open, belch auftreten to appear, perform aufwachen to wake up aufwerfen to raise (an issue) aufzählen to enumerate
- Explain the semantical connection between the words listed containing the word “legen”.
- Explain the various meaning of the prefix “auf” in the examples given.
Below is a semantic (meaning-based) analysis, not a grammatical one. I’ll treat legen as a lexical core and auf- as a polysemous prefix whose meanings can be grouped systematically.
1. Semantic connection of verbs containing legen
Core meaning of legen
legen = “to place something deliberately into a position or state.”
Key semantic components:
- intentional action (not accidental)
- change of position, state, or status
- often implies control or finality
All compound verbs with legen extend this core idea by adding direction, purpose, or abstraction.
Major semantic extensions
A. Physical placement in space
Concrete movement of an object or body:
- hinlegen – place there
- weglegen – place away
- ablegen – place down / off
- einlegen – place into
- auflegen – place onto
- niederlegen – place downwards
The prefix specifies spatial orientation.
B. Arrangement / organization
Placing things in a structured way:
- auslegen – lay out (arrange visibly)
- zusammenlegen – lay together (combine)
- festlegen – lay down rules
- zurücklegen – lay back / store
C. Transfer to abstract domains
“Placing” becomes assigning, committing, or defining:
- vorlegen – place before someone → present
- darlegen – place there → explain
- beilegen – place beside → enclose / settle
- zulegen – place to oneself → acquire
D. State change / commitment
The result of “placing” creates a new status:
- anlegen – put on / invest
- festlegen – commit definitively
- niederlegen (Amt niederlegen) – resign
Summary
All legen-verbs share the idea of:
“Causing something to assume a specific position, state, or role.”
The prefixes:
- specify where
- define how
- or shift the meaning from physical → abstract
2. Semantic meanings of the prefix auf-
The prefix auf- is polysemous (one form, multiple related meanings). In separable verbs, it typically implies movement upward, outward, into activity, or into visibility.
A. Opening / access
Making something accessible:
- aufmachen
- aufgehen
- aufschlieĂźen
- aufstoĂźen
B. Upward movement / initiation
Physical or metaphorical rise:
- aufstehen
- aufkommen
- aufwachen
- auftreten
C. Creation / construction
Building something new:
- aufbauen
- aufsetzen (draft, place on top)
- aufziehen (raise, bring up)
D. Beginning / starting
Entering a process:
- aufnehmen
- aufgeben (submit / abandon)
- aufhören
E. Visibility / explicitness
Bringing something into awareness:
- aufklären
- aufwerfen
- aufschreiben
- aufzählen
F. Accumulation / exertion
Gathering or expending effort:
- aufbringen (funds, courage)
- aufpassen
Unified semantic core of auf-
Across all uses:
auf- signals a transition into an accessible, active, or realized state.
It often encodes:
- activation
- exposure
- initiation
- upward or outward movement
Final synthesis
Element Core semantic idea legen deliberate placement → state or commitment auf- transition into openness, activity, or realization
Well you’re right tbh but there’s still a problem which is memorising the verbs themselves because there’s no way to highlight separable verbs. It’s not a big deal but I think it would still be helpful
Maybe I misunderstand what you are trying to say, but what I tried to explain is that I don’t think it makes sense to learn the seperable verbs individually. So instead of learning auflegen, anlegen, ablegen, vorlegen, … individually, it makes more sense to focus on the meaning of the verb legen. The prefixes are prepositions that modify other verbs in a similar manner, so learning each combination means a lot of extra work, that is unnecessary, imho. For example aufsetzen, ansetzen, absetzen, vorsetzen, … are modifications of the verb setzen, where the prefixes modify the verb is pretty similar. So if you have an understanding of what ab and what setzen means, you can guess absetzen.
It is similar in Korean, which I am learning. There prepositions are used to modify verbs, too, and they form one word written together (although there is no seperated form like in German). The thing is, after seeing enough verbs I started to seperate them automatically, so to speak, so if I’ve learned a new verb without or with one preposition, I can usually guess what a form modified via another preposition means. So there is no need to memorize them all, unless the meaning is completely off.
That’s not in the short term plans, but maybe one day.
