to criticize
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to criticize
To point out and complain about mistakes, shortcomings, or negative aspects of a person, thing, or behavior; to express disapproval.
Die Opposition kritisierte den Haushaltsentwurf der Regierung als unsozial.
The opposition criticized the government's draft budget as antisocial.
to critique
To expertly analyze, judge, and evaluate something, for example a work of art or a literary text.
In der nächsten Seminarsitzung werden wir den Roman „Effi Briest“ kritisch analysieren und kritisieren.
In the next seminar session, we will critically analyze and critique the novel 'Effi Briest'.
'Kritisieren' (to criticize) belongs to a word family with the noun 'die Kritik' (criticism/critique) and the adjective 'kritisch' (critical). The ending '-isieren' is typical for verbs that were borrowed from foreign languages.
Seine kritische Haltung wurde nicht von allen geteilt.
His critical attitude was not shared by everyone.
You always criticize a person or thing in the accusative. If you want to name the point of criticism, you can use the preposition 'an' (+ dative): 'etwas an jemandem/etwas kritisieren' (to criticize something about someone/something).
Ich kritisiere nicht dich als Person, sondern nur dein Verhalten.
I'm not criticizing you as a person, only your behavior.
To express the intensity of the criticism, 'kritisieren' (to criticize) is often combined with adverbs such as 'scharf' (strongly/harshly), 'heftig' (severely), 'deutlich' (clearly), or 'öffentlich' (publicly).
Der Plan wurde von Umweltschützern scharf kritisiert.
The plan was harshly criticized by environmentalists.
The meaning 'to judge expertly' is used especially in an academic or artistic context. Typical objects here are 'ein Buch' (a book), 'ein Film' (a film), 'ein Kunstwerk' (a work of art), or 'eine Theorie' (a theory).
Die Literaturkritikerin kritisierte den neuen Roman für seine schwachen Charaktere.
The literary critic critiqued the new novel for its weak characters.
to attack
Both verbs describe sharp negative statements about a person or thing. „Kritisieren“ can be an objective assessment of mistakes or problems, whereas „angreifen“ presents the statement as personal or particularly aggressive. Choose „kritisieren“ for objective criticism and „angreifen“ for a confrontational tone.
Die Journalistin kritisierte den Plan wegen seiner hohen Kosten.
The journalist criticized the plan because of its high costs.
Der Abgeordnete griff den Minister in der Debatte persönlich an.
The member of parliament personally attacked the minister during the debate.
