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.
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
'hängen' and 'erhängen' both have to do with hanging, but their meanings are very different. 'hängen' is a normal, neutral word: a picture hangs on the wall, or you hang a jacket on a hook. 'erhängen', on the other hand, means to kill someone by hanging or to take one's own life in this way. It is a very serious and heavy word. Learners may confuse the words because 'erhängen' looks similar to 'hängen'. In everyday language for things, clothing, or pictures, you almost always use 'hängen', not 'erhängen'.
In dem alten Kriminalfall wurde der Täter später erhängt.
In the old criminal case, the perpetrator was later hanged.
Er hängt seine Jacke an den Stuhl, bevor er sich setzt.
He hangs his jacket on the chair before sitting down.