quälen
See also: Qualen
German
Etymology
From Middle High German queln, from Old High German quellen, from Proto-West Germanic *kwalljan, from Proto-Germanic *kwaljaną. The vowel was lengthened in modern German under the influence of the related noun Qual. Cognates include Dutch kwellen, English quell, Old Norse kvelja, and further Old Church Slavonic жаль (žalĭ, “pain”), Old Armenian կեղ (keł, “sore, ulcer”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkvɛːlən/, [ˈkʋɛːlən], [ˈkʋɛːl̩n] (standard; especially western Germany, Switzerland)
- IPA(key): /ˈkveːlən/ (alternative standard; chiefly northern and eastern regions)
Audio: (file)
Verb
quälen (weak, third-person singular present quält, past tense quälte, past participle gequält, auxiliary haben)
- (transitive) to torture, to torment, to agonize
- (transitive) to cause sorrow, to upset, to worry
- (transitive) to harass, to bother
- (reflexive) to toil, to struggle
Conjugation
Conjugation of quälen (weak, auxiliary haben)
| infinitive | quälen | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present participle | quälend | ||||
| past participle | gequält | ||||
| auxiliary | haben | ||||
| indicative | subjunctive | ||||
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| present | ich quäle | wir quälen | i | ich quäle | wir quälen |
| du quälst | ihr quält | du quälest | ihr quälet | ||
| er quält | sie quälen | er quäle | sie quälen | ||
| preterite | ich quälte | wir quälten | ii | ich quälte1 | wir quälten1 |
| du quältest | ihr quältet | du quältest1 | ihr quältet1 | ||
| er quälte | sie quälten | er quälte1 | sie quälten1 | ||
| imperative | quäl (du) quäle (du) |
quält (ihr) | |||
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Composed forms of quälen (weak, auxiliary haben)