aufzwingen
to force on
To force someone to accept, do, or agree to something against their will.
EXAMPLE
Er versuchte, mir seine Meinung aufzuzwingen, aber ich blieb bei meiner.
He tried to force his opinion on me, but I stuck to mine.
aufzwingen
to force on
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Meanings
sich aufzwingen
to impose itself
Said of a thought or feeling: to make itself noticed in one's consciousness involuntarily and unavoidably.
EXAMPLE
Der Gedanke, dass ich etwas Wichtiges vergessen hatte, zwang sich mir immer wieder auf.
The thought that I had forgotten something important kept imposing itself on me.
Usage tips
Separable verb
'Aufzwingen' is a separable verb. The prefix 'auf-' goes at the end in a main clause. It is derived from 'zwingen' (to force), with 'auf-' emphasizing the direction 'onto someone'.
EXAMPLE
Ich lasse mir von niemandem eine Entscheidung aufzwingen.
I won't let anyone force a decision on me.
Dative and accusative object
This verb requires a fixed sentence structure: the person on whom something is forced is in the dative, and the thing that is forced on them is in the accusative. The pattern is: jemandem (Dativ) etwas (Akkusativ) aufzwingen.
EXAMPLE
Der Verkäufer wollte mir einen unnötigen Vertrag aufzwingen.
The salesperson wanted to force an unnecessary contract on me.
Reflexive use
In the reflexive form 'sich aufzwingen' (to impose itself), the logic is different: a thought or feeling is the subject, and the person having this thought is in the dative. The pattern is: Etwas (Nominativ) zwingt sich mir (Dativ) auf.
EXAMPLE
Der Verdacht, dass etwas nicht stimmte, zwang sich ihm einfach auf.
The suspicion that something was wrong simply imposed itself on him.
Compare with
aufzwingen vs zwingen
to force
Zwingen describes bringing someone to do something against their will and is usually used in „jemanden zu etwas zwingen“. Aufzwingen focuses more on what the affected person has to accept or agree to; it takes an accusative object and often a dative for the affected person.
aufzwingen
Der Trainer zwang dem müden Spieler ein weiteres Training auf.
The coach forced another training session on the tired player.
zwingen
Der Trainer zwang den Spieler, trotz seiner Müdigkeit weiterzulaufen.
The coach forced the player to keep running despite his fatigue.
In real life
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