ausmalen
to paint
To paint the walls and ceilings of a room or building.
EXAMPLE
Wir lassen nächste Woche die ganze Wohnung neu ausmalen.
We're having the whole apartment repainted next week.
ausmalen
to paint / to color in / to imagine
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Meanings
sich etwas ausmalen
to imagine
To imagine something vividly and in detail, often with a negative or dramatic expectation.
EXAMPLE
Ich möchte mir gar nicht ausmalen, was ohne deine Hilfe passiert wäre.
I don't even want to imagine what would have happened without your help.
ausmalen
to color in
To fill a drawing, a template, or an area with color.
EXAMPLE
Die Kinder malen gerne die Bilder in ihren Malbüchern aus.
The children like coloring in the pictures in their coloring books.
Usage tips
Separable verb
'Ausmalen' (to paint / to color in / to imagine) is a separable verb. The prefix 'aus-' goes to the end in a main clause. In subordinate clauses and in the infinitive with 'zu', the verb stays together.
EXAMPLE
Er malt sich die schlimmsten Szenarien aus.
He imagines the worst scenarios.
Reflexive dative construction
In the meaning 'sich etwas ausmalen' (to imagine something), the verb is reflexive and is used with a dative pronoun: 'sich (mir, dir, ihm...) etwas ausmalen' (to imagine something for oneself). What one imagines is in the accusative.
EXAMPLE
Kannst du dir ausmalen, wie glücklich sie sein wird?
Can you imagine how happy she will be?
Context clue
The expression 'sich etwas ausmalen' (to imagine something) is very often used in negative sentences or questions to express that one would rather not imagine a terrible situation.
EXAMPLE
Mal dir bloß nicht aus, was alles hätte schiefgehen können!
Don't even imagine all the things that could have gone wrong!
Context clue
The two concrete meanings can be distinguished by the object. If 'ausmalen' refers to large surfaces such as 'Zimmer' (room), 'Wohnung' (apartment), or 'Haus' (house), it means painting. If it refers to 'Bild' (picture) or 'Zeichnung' (drawing), it means filling it with color.
EXAMPLE
Wir müssen die Küche neu ausmalen.
We need to repaint the kitchen.
Compare with
ausmalen vs streichen
to paint / to cancel
Streichen is the usual term for covering a single wall or another surface with paint. In this context, ausmalen usually means painting the walls and ceilings of an entire room or building.
ausmalen
Am Samstag malen wir das ganze Wohnzimmer neu aus.
On Saturday, we’re repainting the entire living room.
streichen
Am Samstag streichen wir die Wand hinter dem Sofa blau.
On Saturday, we’re painting the wall behind the sofa blue.
In real life
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