machen

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

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

  (file)

• (Germany)

  (file)

• (Austria, southern Germany)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -axən

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

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

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

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

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

   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 (to execute; to put into operation (an action))

   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, with a noun) to do; indicates an activity associated with a noun

   Sport machen ― do sports

   eine Party machen ― have a party

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

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

6. (transitive) to make (to cause or compel (to do something))
7. (transitive, of difficulties, pain, etc.) to cause (to set off an event or action or produce as a result)
8. (transitive, with an adjective) to make (to cause to be)

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

9. (transitive, with a noun) to make (transform from one thing into another)

   Die Mühle macht Mehl aus Weizen. ― The mill makes flour from wheat.

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

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

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

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

12. (transitive, arithmetic) to make, 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.)

    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, play (to act as the indicated role, especially in a performance)
15. (transitive, impersonal, colloquial) to matter (to be important)

    Das macht nichts! ― That doesn't matter!

16. (intransitive) to make, make oneself out to be, act, play (to behave so as to give an appearance of being; to act as if one were (something, or a certain way)) [+ auf (object)]
17. (intransitive, informal, euphemistic) to do one's business, do number two or number one, go (to defecate or urinate)

    (childish) groß machen ― to go poop

    (childish) klein machen ― to go pee

18. (reflexive) to do (to fare or perform (well or poorly))

    Machen Sie sich gut? ― Are you doing well?

19. (reflexive) to look (to have an appearance of being)

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

20. (reflexive dative, colloquial) to get cracking (an (“on,” “with”)), get a move on (it), to get down (an (“to”)) (something); (in 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

• (to make, to produce): produzieren, herstellen
• (to do): tun
• (to prepare food, drinks): vorbereiten
• (to matter): eine Rolle spielen, wichtig sein
• (to come to, to total, to cost): kosten
• (to earn): verdienen, einheimsen

• “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

• 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