to misunderstand
Loading your saved state.
to misunderstand
To understand or interpret a statement, an action, or a situation incorrectly.
Ich glaube, du hast mich völlig missverstanden; das habe ich so nicht gemeint.
I think you completely misunderstood me; that is not what I meant.
The verb is made up of the prefix 'miss-' (wrong, bad) and the verb 'verstehen' (to understand). The meaning 'falsch verstehen' (to understand incorrectly) can therefore be derived directly from its parts.
Entschuldigung, da habe ich Sie wohl missverstanden.
Sorry, I must have misunderstood you.
'Missverstehen' is an inseparable verb. The prefix 'miss-' is never separated from the rest of the verb. The past participle is 'missverstanden' (misunderstood), without 'ge-'.
Sie hat seine Geste komplett missverstanden.
She completely misunderstood his gesture.
The verb can also be used reflexively: 'sich missverstehen' (to misunderstand each other). It then means that two or more people misunderstand one another.
Wir haben uns anscheinend missverstanden, lass es uns noch einmal klären.
We apparently misunderstood each other; let's clarify it once more.
