auswendig
by heart
To keep something in memory and be able to reproduce it without a text or aids; from memory.
EXAMPLE
Für das Theaterstück musste er eine lange Rede auswendig lernen.
For the play, he had to learn a long speech by heart.
auswendig
by heart
Checking...
Loading your saved state.
Meanings
Usage tips
Typical verbs
'Auswendig' (by heart) is most commonly combined with the verb 'lernen' (to learn). Other typical verbs are 'können' (to know/be able to), 'wissen' (to know), 'kennen' (to know), or 'aufsagen' (to recite).
EXAMPLE
Kannst du das Gedicht schon auswendig?
Do you already know the poem by heart?
Sentence position
As an adverb, 'auswendig' (by heart) usually stands at the end of a sentence or clause, directly before the conjugated verb or the past participle.
EXAMPLE
Sie hat ihre Präsentation komplett auswendig gelernt.
She learned her presentation completely by heart.
Typical objects
People typically learn things by heart that have a fixed form, such as 'ein Gedicht' (a poem), 'einen Text' (a text), 'Vokabeln' (vocabulary), 'eine Formel' (a formula), or 'eine Telefonnummer' (a telephone number).
EXAMPLE
Ich kenne ihre Telefonnummer nicht auswendig.
I don't know her telephone number by heart.
Compare with
auswendig vs frei
free
Frei sprechen means formulating your own words spontaneously without following a fixed script; the text does not have to be learned beforehand. Auswendig sprechen, by contrast, means reproducing a learned text from memory without looking at it.
auswendig
Im Vortrag gibt Lea den vorher gelernten Text auswendig wieder.
During the presentation, Lea recites the text she learned beforehand from memory.
frei
Im Vortrag spricht Lea frei und formuliert ihre Gedanken spontan.
Lea speaks freely during the presentation and formulates her thoughts spontaneously.
In real life
Loading video examples...