lecken
to lick
To move the tongue over something in order to taste it, eat it, clean it, or moisten it.
EXAMPLE
Das Kind leckt genüsslich an seiner Eistüte.
The child happily licks his ice cream cone.
lecken
to lick / leak
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Meanings
lecken
to leak
To be leaky, so that liquid or gas unintentionally escapes through a hole or crack.
EXAMPLE
Das Dach leckt, bei starkem Regen tropft es ins Wohnzimmer.
The roof is leaking; when it rains heavily, water drips into the living room.
jemanden am Arsch lecken können
to kiss someone’s ass
A very rude and colloquial way to express that you want nothing more to do with someone or are ignoring their opinion. It means something like “Leave me alone!”
EXAMPLE
Nach all den Lügen kann er mich mal am Arsch lecken.
After all those lies, he can kiss my ass.
Usage tips
Context clue
The two main meanings differ depending on the subject of the sentence. If a person or animal performs the action, it means 'mit der Zunge berühren' (to touch with the tongue). If an object is the subject, it means 'undicht sein' (to leak/be leaky).
EXAMPLE
Die Katze leckt ihre Pfote.
The cat licks its paw.
Correct preposition
When you move your tongue over something, you use the preposition 'an' with the dative. So you lick 'an' something in German.
EXAMPLE
Das Mädchen leckte glücklich an seinem Eis.
The girl happily licked her ice cream.
Use without an object
In the meaning 'undicht sein' (to leak/be leaky), 'lecken' (to leak) is used without an object. The subject is the object that something is escaping from.
EXAMPLE
Das alte Boot leckt und muss repariert werden.
The old boat is leaking and needs to be repaired.
Register: vulgar language
The expression 'jemanden am Arsch lecken können' (roughly: someone can kiss my ass) is very rude and vulgar. It is used only in very informal situations to express strong rejection.
EXAMPLE
Er sagte, mein Vorschlag sei dumm, aber er kann mich mal.
He said my suggestion was stupid, but he can kiss my ass.
Compare with
lecken vs Tropfen
drop
Der Tropfen refers to the small amount of liquid that visibly escapes. Lecken, on the other hand, describes a container or pipe being leaky, causing liquid or gas to escape. With a faucet, you can therefore see the drop and say at the same time that the faucet is leaking.
lecken
Der Wasserhahn leckt an der Dichtung und verliert langsam Wasser.
The faucet is leaking at the seal and slowly losing water.
Tropfen
Aus dem undichten Wasserhahn fällt langsam ein Tropfen ins Becken.
A drop slowly falls into the sink from the leaky faucet.
In real life
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