das Riechen
smelling
The act of perceiving and recognizing smells with the nose.
EXAMPLE
Durch die verstopfte Nase fällt mir das Riechen schwer.
The blocked nose makes smelling difficult for me.
das Riechen
smelling
das Riechen
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Meanings
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry Riechen, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
At a glance
| gender | neuter das |
|---|---|
| genitive | des Riechens |
The four cases
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | das Riechen | – |
| accusative | das Riechen | – |
| dative | dem Riechen | – |
| genitive | des Riechens | – |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
Usage tips
Nominalized verb
'Das Riechen' (smelling) is the nominalized infinitive of the verb 'riechen' (to smell). As a noun, it refers to the activity in general and is therefore capitalized.
EXAMPLE
Das Riechen spielt bei der Auswahl frischer Lebensmittel eine wichtige Rolle.
Smelling plays an important role when selecting fresh food.
Typical preposition
For the activity involving a specific thing, 'an' is often used with the dative: 'das Riechen an etwas' (smelling something). When referring to the activity during a process, 'beim Riechen' (while smelling) is often used.
EXAMPLE
Beim Riechen an der Blume bemerkte das Kind einen süßen Duft.
While smelling the flower, the child noticed a sweet scent.
Typical collocations
'Das Riechen' (smelling) is often used with adjectives that describe the quality or intensity of the activity, such as 'bewusstes' (conscious), 'intensives' (intense), or 'gutes' Riechen (good smelling).
EXAMPLE
Bewusstes Riechen hilft dabei, feine Unterschiede zwischen verschiedenen Gewürzen wahrzunehmen.
Conscious smelling helps you perceive subtle differences between different spices.
In real life
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