to stamp / label
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to stamp
To press a stamp onto something in order to cancel, validate, or mark it, for example a postage stamp or a ticket.
Bitte vergessen Sie nicht, Ihre Fahrkarte vor Fahrtantritt abzustempeln.
Please don't forget to stamp your ticket before starting your journey.
to label as
To judge someone or something hastily and often negatively and place them into a certain category.
Nur weil er einmal einen Fehler gemacht hat, wurde er sofort als unzuverlässig abgestempelt.
Just because he made one mistake, he was immediately labeled as unreliable.
'Abstempeln' (to stamp / label) is a separable verb. In a main clause, the prefix 'ab-' comes at the end of the sentence. In subordinate clauses or in the infinitive, the verb stays together.
Der Kontrolleur stempelt die Fahrkarten ab.
The inspector stamps the tickets.
You can recognize the meaning from the object: if it is about concrete things like 'Fahrkarte' (ticket) or 'Briefmarke' (postage stamp), the literal meaning is intended. If the object is a person and the preposition 'als' follows, it is the figurative, negative judgment.
Du musst den Brief noch abstempeln, bevor du ihn einwirfst.
You still have to stamp the letter before you drop it in the mailbox.
In the figurative meaning, 'abstempeln' (to label) is almost always used with the preposition 'als'. The structure is: 'jemanden / etwas als ... abstempeln' (to label someone / something as ...).
Seine Idee wurde sofort als unrealistisch abgestempelt.
His idea was immediately labeled as unrealistic.
to label
Beschriften means writing text on an object or surface. Labeling a person as something, by contrast, means categorizing them hastily and usually negatively. Use beschriften for an actual inscription and abstempeln for a simplistic judgment about someone.
Die Redaktion stempelt den Mann vorschnell als Betrüger ab.
The editorial team hastily labels the man as a fraudster.
Die Redaktion beschriftet das Foto des Mannes mit seinem Namen.
The editorial team labels the photo of the man with his name.
