to capitulate
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to capitulate
In a military sense, to lay down one's weapons and surrender to the enemy; to give up the fight.
Nach wochenlanger Belagerung war die Armee gezwungen zu kapitulieren.
After weeks of siege, the army was forced to capitulate.
to give up
In a figurative sense, to give up in the face of a difficulty, task, or challenge because you feel overwhelmed.
Vor der schieren Menge an Lernstoff habe ich kapituliert und die Prüfung verschoben.
Faced with the sheer amount of study material, I gave up and postponed the exam.
'Kapitulieren' (to capitulate) is a verb ending in '-ieren'. These verbs are always regular and form the perfect tense with 'haben' (to have) and the past participle without 'ge-'. So it is 'hat kapituliert' (has capitulated).
Er hat nach nur einer Stunde vor dem Computerspiel kapituliert.
He gave up on the computer game after only one hour.
When saying what someone capitulates or gives up in the face of, you use the preposition 'vor' with the dative. This applies to both the military and the figurative meaning.
Die Mannschaft kapitulierte vor dem überlegenen Gegner.
The team capitulated to the superior opponent.
In everyday language, 'kapitulieren' (to capitulate / to give up) is very often used figuratively. It then means that you give up on a difficult task, problem, or challenge.
Nach zwei Stunden habe ich vor dem komplizierten Mathe-Rätsel kapituliert.
After two hours, I gave up on the complicated math puzzle.
You can tell from the context whether the literal or figurative meaning is intended. Words like 'Armee' (army), 'Feind' (enemy), or 'Krieg' (war) point to the military meaning. Words like 'Aufgabe' (task), 'Problem' (problem), or 'Lernstoff' (study material) point to the figurative meaning.
Die Soldaten mussten nach langer Belagerung kapitulieren.
The soldiers had to capitulate after a long siege.
to result / surrender
When ending a fight, both sich ergeben and kapitulieren can mean giving up resistance. Sich ergeben emphasizes submission to the opponent more strongly, while kapitulieren highlights stopping the fight or resistance. Use sich ergeben when focusing on the relationship with the opponent and kapitulieren when focusing on giving up resistance.
Nach mehreren Tagen ohne Erfolg musste die Armee kapitulieren.
After several days without success, the army had to capitulate.
Nach der Einkesselung ergaben sich die Soldaten dem Gegner.
After being surrounded, the soldiers surrendered to the enemy.
