to scratch / swim crawl
kraulen – kraulte – hat gekrault
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to scratch gently
To gently scratch or stroke a person or an animal with your fingers, often on the head or back.
Die Katze schnurrte, während ich sie hinter den Ohren kraulte.
The cat purred while I gently scratched her behind the ears.
to swim crawl
To swim using a stroke in which the arms alternately reach forward above the water while the legs kick rapidly up and down.
Sie krault jeden Morgen zwanzig Bahnen im Schwimmbad.
She swims twenty lengths of crawl at the pool every morning.
| ich | kraule |
|---|---|
| du | kraulst |
| er/sie/es | krault |
| wir | kraulen |
| ihr | krault |
| sie | kraulen |
| ich | kraulte |
|---|---|
| du | kraultest |
| er/sie/es | kraulte |
| wir | kraulten |
| ihr | kraultet |
| sie | kraulten |
| ich | habe gekrault bin gekrault |
|---|---|
| du | hast gekrault bist gekrault |
| er/sie/es | hat gekrault ist gekrault |
| wir | haben gekrault sind gekrault |
| ihr | habt gekrault seid gekrault |
| sie | haben gekrault sind gekrault |
| du | kraul! kraule! |
|---|---|
| ihr | krault! |
| Sie | kraulen Sie! |
| ich | hatte gekrault war gekrault |
|---|---|
| du | hattest gekrault warst gekrault |
| er/sie/es | hatte gekrault war gekrault |
| wir | hatten gekrault waren gekrault |
| ihr | hattet gekrault wart gekrault |
| sie | hatten gekrault waren gekrault |
| ich | werde kraulen |
|---|---|
| du | wirst kraulen |
| er/sie/es | wird kraulen |
| wir | werden kraulen |
| ihr | werdet kraulen |
| sie | werden kraulen |
| ich | kraule |
|---|---|
| du | kraulest |
| er/sie/es | kraule |
| wir | kraulen |
| ihr | kraulet |
| sie | kraulen |
Used for reported speech.
| ich | kraulte |
|---|---|
| du | kraultest |
| er/sie/es | kraulte |
| wir | kraulten |
| ihr | kraultet |
| sie | kraulten |
Used for wishes and “would”.
| infinitive | kraulen |
|---|---|
| with zu | zu kraulen |
| present participle | kraulend |
| past participle | gekrault |
The context tells you which meaning is intended: with a person or animal as the object, it means gentle stroking or scratching. Words such as 'Bahn' (length of a pool), 'Schwimmbad' (swimming pool), or 'Wettkampf' (competition) indicate the swimming stroke.
Der Hund legte den Kopf auf meinen Schoß, während ich ihn kraulte.
The dog rested his head on my lap while I gently scratched him.
Im Training kraulte sie zehn Bahnen ohne Pause.
During training, she swam ten lengths of crawl without a break.
When referring to gentle stroking, the person or animal is usually the direct object in the accusative case. The body part is also often specified using 'an' (on) or an expression of location.
Er kraulte seine Katze am Hals.
He gently scratched his cat's neck.
Das Kind kraulte den Hund hinter den Ohren.
The child gently scratched the dog behind the ears.
When referring to the swimming stroke, 'kraulen' (to swim crawl) is often used with details about distance or training. Typical expressions include 'Bahnen kraulen' (to swim lengths of crawl), 'im Schwimmbad kraulen' (to swim crawl at the pool), and 'eine Strecke kraulen' (to swim a distance using crawl).
Vor dem Wettkampf krault die Sportlerin jeden Tag im Verein.
Before the competition, the athlete swims crawl every day with her club.
Er kraulte die fünfhundert Meter in knapp acht Minuten.
He swam the five hundred meters using crawl in just under eight minutes.
