to kiss
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to kiss
To press the lips onto another person's lips or another part of their body, or onto an object, usually as a sign of love, affection, friendship, or reverence.
Zum Abschied küsste er sie auf die Wange.
He kissed her on the cheek to say goodbye.
The verb 'küssen' (to kiss) is directly connected to the noun 'der Kuss' (the kiss). If you know one word, you can easily remember the other.
Er gab ihr zum Abschied einen Kuss.
He gave her a kiss to say goodbye.
The person or thing being kissed is always in the accusative. If you specify the exact place, you use the preposition 'auf' with the accusative.
Die Mutter küsst ihr Kind auf die Stirn.
The mother kisses her child on the forehead.
When two people kiss each other, the reflexive form 'sich küssen' is used. The subject is then plural.
Das Paar küsste sich leidenschaftlich.
The couple kissed each other passionately.
The idiom 'von der Muse geküsst werden' (to be kissed by the muse) is a fixed unit and is used in the passive. It describes the moment when you have a sudden creative inspiration.
Nach einer langen Pause wurde die Autorin endlich wieder von der Muse geküsst und schrieb ein neues Kapitel.
After a long break, the author was finally kissed by the muse again and wrote a new chapter.
kiss
'Kuss' and 'küssen' describe the same action with the lips, but they belong to different parts of speech. 'Der Kuss' is the noun and refers to the touch itself. 'küssen' is the verb and describes someone doing this action. Learners can easily confuse the words because they look very similar and belong to the same situation. Pay attention to the grammar: you give or receive a kiss, but you kiss a person.
Nach der langen Reise küsste er seine Frau zur Begrüßung.
After the long journey, he kissed his wife in greeting.
Zum Abschied gab die Mutter ihrem Kind einen Kuss auf die Stirn.
As a goodbye, the mother gave her child a kiss on the forehead.