Get the appGet the app
German frequency list

No. 13,480 in German

betätigen

"Betätigen" means "to activate, operate, or engage."

In a sentence

  • Er betätigt den Schalter, um das Licht einzuschalten.

    He operates the switch to turn on the light.

    Here, 'betätigen' is used to describe the physical act of activating or using a device, tool, or mechanism.

  • Sie betätigen sich regelmäßig sportlich, um fit zu bleiben.

    They engage in sporting activities regularly to keep fit.

    Here, 'betätigen sich' is used in a reflexive form to indicate engaging in a form of activity, such as sports, indicating participation or involvement.

  • Er betätigte sich als Übersetzer für die Firma.

    He acted as a translator for the company.

    In this context, 'betätigen sich als' suggests occupying oneself or taking on a role, indicating carrying out a task specific to a role or profession.

Hear it in real podcasts

The recording above is a synthetic voice. Hear how people say “betätigen” in actual German podcasts.

Find “betätigen” in podcasts

Learn it from shows you like

LangTurbo plays German podcasts with a transcript and the English under every line. Tap a word like this one and it tells you what it means right there. For iPhone, iPad and Android.

Learning English?

LangTurbo plays real English podcasts with every line translated into Deutsch, and tells you what any word means in that sentence. For iPhone, iPad and Android.

German books and courses on Amazon (an affiliate link: a purchase through it supports this site).