sich beugen
to bend down
To lean the upper body or a body part forward or downward.
EXAMPLE
Er musste sich tief beugen, um unter dem Ast hindurchzugehen.
He had to bend down low to walk under the branch.
beugen
to bend
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Meanings
beugen
to bend
To make something straight crooked or bring it into a curved shape.
EXAMPLE
Der starke Wind beugte die jungen Bäume.
The strong wind bent the young trees.
sich beugen
to bow to
To give in to pressure, a power, or a will; to submit.
EXAMPLE
Sie weigerte sich, sich den ungerechten Forderungen zu beugen.
She refused to bow to the unjust demands.
beugen
to inflect
(Grammar) To change the form of a word, such as a noun, adjective, or verb, according to its grammatical function in the sentence; to inflect.
EXAMPLE
Im Lateinunterricht lernen wir, Verben und Nomen korrekt zu beugen.
In Latin class, we learn to inflect verbs and nouns correctly.
Usage tips
Inseparable verb
The verb 'beugen' (to bend) has the prefix 'be-' and is therefore inseparable. The prefix remains firmly attached to the verb in all sentence forms and is not placed at the end of the sentence.
EXAMPLE
Er beugte den Draht zu einem Haken.
He bent the wire into a hook.
Reflexive vs. non-reflexive
Pay attention to the difference: 'sich beugen' (to bend down / to bow) is reflexive and usually describes a body movement or giving in to a power. The non-reflexive form 'beugen' (to bend) means to make an object crooked or is used as a grammatical technical term.
EXAMPLE
Sie beugt sich zu dem Kind hinunter.
She bends down toward the child.
Dative construction
When 'sich beugen' means 'nachgeben' (to give in), the power or force that one gives in to is often in the dative. Typical constructions are 'sich einer Sache beugen' (to bow to something) or 'sich vor jemandem beugen' (to bow before someone).
EXAMPLE
Am Ende musste er sich der Entscheidung der Mehrheit beugen.
In the end, he had to bow to the decision of the majority.
Grammar context clue
You can easily recognize this meaning from the context. When it is about language, words, nouns, adjectives, or declension, 'beugen' always means 'flektieren' (to inflect).
EXAMPLE
In diesem Satz musst du das Adjektiv richtig beugen.
In this sentence, you have to inflect the adjective correctly.
Compare with
beugen vs senken
to lower
Senken and sich beugen can describe moving the head downward. Senken focuses mainly on the fact that the head is lower afterward, while sich beugen highlights the tilting or bending movement and often suggests a humble posture. Senken is used for the position, and sich beugen for the movement.
beugen
Der Schüler beugte sich vor dem Direktor leicht.
The student bowed slightly before the principal.
senken
Der Schüler senkte den Kopf und blieb still.
The student lowered his head and remained silent.
In real life
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