to hang
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to hang oneself
To take one's own life by hanging oneself with a noose around the neck.
In dem Roman erhängt sich die Hauptfigur aus Verzweiflung auf dem Dachboden.
In the novel, the main character hangs himself in the attic out of despair.
to hang
To kill someone by hanging them with a noose around the neck, often as a form of execution.
Im Mittelalter wurden viele Verbrecher öffentlich erhängt.
In the Middle Ages, many criminals were publicly hanged.
The prefix 'er-' is inseparable and often indicates a final, sometimes deadly result of an action. While 'hängen' (to hang) only describes the position, 'erhängen' (to hang/execute by hanging) means killing by hanging.
Der Täter wurde zum Tode durch Erhängen verurteilt.
The perpetrator was sentenced to death by hanging.
The use of the verb completely changes the meaning. 'Sich erhängen' (to hang oneself) is reflexive and means suicide. 'Jemanden erhängen' (to hang someone) is transitive and means to kill another person.
Aus Verzweiflung versuchte er, sich zu erhängen.
Out of despair, he tried to hang himself.
When naming the place of the suicide, the preposition 'an' with the dative is used.
Er hatte gedroht, sich an einem Baum im Garten zu erhängen.
He had threatened to hang himself from a tree in the garden.
to hang up
Both verbs can describe death by hanging with a noose. Sich aufhängen is the colloquial form used when a person takes their own life; erhängen can also describe this process, but it can also mean killing another person. For a clear description of this type of death, erhängen is especially precise.
Die historische Geschichte erzählt von einem Mann, der einen Gefangenen erhängen ließ.
The historical account tells of a man who had a prisoner hanged.
Er nahm sich das Leben, indem er sich in seiner Wohnung aufhängte.
He took his own life by hanging himself in his apartment.
