machen

• IPA^(key): [ˈmaxɛn]

machen f

1. genitive plural of machna

Inherited from Middle High German machen, from Old High German mahhōn, from Proto-West Germanic *makōn, from Proto-Indo-European *mag- (“to knead, mix, make”). Cognate with English make.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaxən/, [ˈmäχən], [ˈmäχn̩], [ˈmäxɛn], [ˈmɑχən]

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• Rhymes: -axən

machen (weak, third-person singular present macht, past tense machte, past participle gemacht, auxiliary haben)

1. (transitive) to make, to produce, to create (an object, arrangement, situation, etc.)

   Synonyms: produzieren, herstellen

   Ich hab dir einen Kuchen gemacht! ― I made you a pie!

   Du hast einen Fehler gemacht. ― You made a mistake.

2. (transitive) to make, prepare (food, drinks, etc.)

   Synonym: vorbereiten

   Machst du heute das Essen? ― Are you making dinner today?

   sich eine Pizza machen ― to prepare a pizza for oneself

3. (transitive, informal) to do, perform, carry out (an action) (to execute; to put into operation)

   Synonym: tun

   Mach es! ― Do it!

   Das hat er ganz allein gemacht! ― He did that all by himself!

   ein Experiment machen ― to perform an experiment

4. (transitive) to do (a noun); indicates an activity associated with a noun

   Sport machen ― do sports

   eine Party machen ― have a party

5. (transitive) to go (a specified sound) (to make the sound)

   Das Auto machte "Bumm" und hielt an. ― The car went "boom" and stopped.

6. (transitive) to make, to cause [with accusative ‘someone/something’ and infinitive ‘(to) do something’; or with dass (+ clause) ‘something (to) happen’]

   Sie hat mich lachen gemacht. ― She made me laugh.

   Deine Witze machen, dass ich lächle. ― Your jokes make me smile.

7. (transitive) to cause [with dative ‘for/in someone’ and accusative abstract noun ‘fear, pain, difficulty, happiness, etc.’] (often translated idiomatically with English make followed by an adjective)

   Die Nacht macht mir Angst. ― Night makes me afraid. (literally, “The night causes fear in me.”)

8. (transitive) to make (to cause to be) [with accusative ‘someone/something’ and adjective ‘to be in a given state’]

   Dieser Film macht mich schläfrig. ― This movie makes me sleepy.

9. (transitive) to make (to transform) [with accusative ‘something’ and aus (+ dative) ‘from something else’] (often translated idiomatically with English turn (something into something else))

   Die Mühle macht Mehl aus Weizen. ― The mill turns wheat into flower. (literally, “The mill makes flour from wheat.”)

10. (transitive) to make (to have as a feature) (often not translated literally)

    Die Straße macht vor uns eine Linkskurve. ― The road makes a turn to the left ahead.

11. (transitive, informal, colloquial) to come to, to total, to cost (to require the payment of)

    Synonym: kosten

    Wie viel macht das? ― How much does that come to?

12. (transitive, arithmetic) to make, to be (the result of a calculation)

    Sieben plus fünf macht zwölf. ― Seven plus five makes twelve.

13. (transitive, informal, colloquial) to make (to earn, gain wages, profit, etc.)

    Synonyms: verdienen, einheimsen

    Der Herr Müller ist echt reich; der macht mehr als 5000 Euro im Monat.

    Mr Müller is quite rich; he makes more than 5000 Euros per month.

14. (transitive) to be, to play (to act as the indicated role, especially in a performance)
15. (transitive, colloquial) to signify, to mean [with nichts, viel, etc.] (translated idiomatically as English (not) matter)

    Das macht nichts! ― That doesn't matter! (literally, “That means nothing!”)

16. (intransitive, informal) to make, to make oneself out to be, to act, to play (to behave so as to give an appearance of being; to act as if one were (something, or a certain way)) [with auf (+ accusative) ‘a role’]

    Jetzt macht er auf Elder Statesman. ― Now he's playing the elder statesman.

17. (intransitive, informal, euphemistic) to do one's business, do number two or number one, go (to defecate or urinate)

    groß machen (childish) ― to go poop

    klein machen (childish) ― to go pee

18. (reflexive) to do, to fare [with adverb ‘well, badly, etc.’]

    Machen Sie sich gut? ― Are you doing well?

19. (reflexive) to look (to have an appearance of being) [with adjective ‘a particular way’]

    Der Mantel macht sich sehr schön. ― The coat looks very nice.

20. (dative reflexive, colloquial) to get cracking (on/with), to get a move on (it), to get down (to) [with an (+ accusative) ‘something’]
21. (imperative) come on, let's go

• Unlike the English distinction between make and do, the verb machen (“make”) can be used as a synonym for tun (“do”) in most cases. However, tun cannot be used for the proper senses of machen.
• The verb machen can be combined with many different nouns to create various expressions. These can often be translated into English with make or take. For many of these expressions, a more specific verb is available and is usually preferred in formal or written language.

  Angaben machen ― to provide information

  eine Aufzeichnung machen ― to keep a record

  Ausflüchte machen ― to make excuses

  Bankrott/Pleite machen ― to go bankrupt

  eine Besorgung machen ― to run an errand

  ein Bett machen ― to make a bed

  Feierabend machen ― to call it a day

  Ferien machen ― to take a vacation, to go on holiday

  ein Feuer machen ― to light a fire

  ein Foto machen ― to take a picture

  Fortschritte machen ― to make headway

  Gewinn machen ― to turn a profit

  Kasse machen ― to cash in

  einen Krach machen ― to make a racket

  einen Kurs machen ― to take a course

  Notizen machen ― to take notes

  Platz machen ― to make room

  eine Reise machen ― to take a trip

  Schluss machen ― to call it quits

  Spaß machen ― to be fun

  Überstunden machen ― to do overtime

  Witze machen ― to joke

• “machen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “machen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “machen” in Duden online
• “machen” in OpenThesaurus.de

machen

1. Alternative form of macchen

Inherited from Old High German mahhōn, from Proto-West Germanic *makōn.

• IPA^(key): (before 13^th CE) /ˈmaxən/

machen (class 2 weak, third-person singular present machet, past tense machete, past participle gemachet, auxiliary hān)

1. to make
2. to do

• Alemannic German: mache

  Alsatian: màche (north), màcha (south)

  Swabian: macha

• Bavarian: macha

  Cimbrian: machan

  Mòcheno: mòchen

• Central Franconian: maache
  • Hunsrik: mache
  • Luxembourgish: maachen
• East Central German:

  Lusatian: machn

  Upper Saxon German: machn

  Vilamovian: maha

• German: machen
• Rhine Franconian: mache, machng (?)
  • Pennsylvania German: mache
• Yiddish: מאַכן (makhn)

• IPA^(key): /ˈmat͡ʃen/ [ˈma.t͡ʃẽn]
• Rhymes: -atʃen
• Syllabification: ma‧chen

machen

1. inflection of machar:
   1. third-person plural present subjunctive
   2. third-person plural imperative