kauen
to chew
To break down food with the teeth before swallowing it.
EXAMPLE
Man sollte jeden Bissen gut kauen, um die Verdauung zu erleichtern.
You should chew every bite well to make digestion easier.
kauen
to chew
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Meanings
an etwas zu kauen haben
to struggle with
To have to deal with a problem, defeat, or difficult task for a long time and very intensely.
EXAMPLE
An dieser unerwarteten Niederlage wird die Mannschaft noch eine Weile zu kauen haben.
The team will have to struggle with this unexpected defeat for quite a while.
Usage tips
Context clue
The literal meaning (breaking down food) is often used without a preposition or with 'auf'. The figurative meaning (having a problem to deal with) always appears in the fixed expression 'an etwas (Dativ) zu kauen haben' (to have something to chew on/to struggle with something).
EXAMPLE
Er kaute nachdenklich auf seinem Stift.
He thoughtfully chewed on his pen.
Sentence structure with 'auf'
When you want to say what someone is chewing on, you use the preposition 'auf' followed by the dative.
EXAMPLE
Das Kind kaut auf seinem Spielzeug.
The child is chewing on his toy.
Typical collocations
Common things people chew are 'Kaugummi kauen' (to chew gum) or, out of nervousness, 'Fingernägel kauen' (to bite/chew one's fingernails). When eating, people often emphasize that you should chew 'gut' (well) or 'gründlich' (thoroughly).
EXAMPLE
Hör bitte auf, an deinen Fingernägeln zu kauen.
Please stop chewing your fingernails.
Fixed expression
The idiom 'an etwas zu kauen haben' (to have something to chew on/to struggle with something) is a fixed structure. The 'etwas' is in the dative and describes the problem that occupies someone mentally or emotionally.
EXAMPLE
Der Sportler hatte an der Kritik der Presse schwer zu kauen.
The athlete struggled a lot with the criticism from the press.
Compare with
kauen vs knabbern
to nibble
Kauen means breaking food down in the mouth. Knabbern, by contrast, emphasizes repeatedly biting off small pieces of something, usually something hard. After biting off the pieces, you can then chew them.
kauen
Sie kaut das Stück Karotte gründlich, bevor sie es schluckt.
She chews the piece of carrot thoroughly before swallowing it.
knabbern
Sie knabbert kleine Stücke von der harten Karotte ab.
She nibbles small pieces off the hard carrot.
In real life
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