to decorate
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to decorate
To adorn or embellish something in order to make it look more beautiful or festive.
Für die Party haben wir das ganze Wohnzimmer mit Luftballons und Girlanden dekoriert.
For the party, we decorated the whole living room with balloons and garlands.
Verbs that end in '-ieren' often come from other languages. They are always weak and conjugated regularly (dekorierte, hat dekoriert) and form the past participle without 'ge-'.
Sie hat den ganzen Nachmittag das Haus dekoriert.
She decorated the house all afternoon.
You can recognize the meaning from the object: if you 'dekorieren' (decorate) a thing or a place, it means 'schmücken' (to decorate/adorn). If you 'dekorieren' (decorate) a person, it means 'auszeichnen' (to honor/decorate).
Wir dekorieren den Weihnachtsbaum mit Kugeln und Lichtern.
We decorate the Christmas tree with ornaments and lights.
When decorating, 'dekorieren' (to decorate) is often used with an accusative object (what is being decorated?) and a 'mit' preposition (with what?). Typical phrases are 'einen Raum dekorieren' (to decorate a room), 'einen Kuchen dekorieren' (to decorate a cake), or 'einen Tisch dekorieren' (to decorate a table).
Für die Hochzeit wurde der Saal festlich dekoriert.
The hall was festively decorated for the wedding.
The meaning 'jemanden auszeichnen' (to honor/decorate someone) is very formal and is mainly used in official, governmental, or military contexts.
Der Soldat wurde für seine Tapferkeit dekoriert.
The soldier was decorated for his bravery.
to award / to distinguish
'auszeichnen' and 'dekorieren' can both mean that someone receives an official honor. 'auszeichnen' is the normal word for this: a person is honored for a special achievement. 'dekorieren' also has another very common meaning: to decorate something. In the sense of 'honoring someone with a medal,' 'dekorieren' sounds more official or military. Learners may confuse the words because in everyday life 'dekorieren' usually does not mean 'to honor,' but 'to decorate.' For prizes and certificates, 'auszeichnen' usually sounds more natural.
Für die Feier dekoriert die Mitarbeiterin den Raum mit Blumen.
For the celebration, the employee decorates the room with flowers.
Felix wurde für seine gute Arbeit im Projekt ausgezeichnet.
Felix was recognized for his good work on the project.