01
pflücken
to pick
To remove and harvest flowers, fruits, or leaves from a plant with your fingers.
example
Im Sommer gehen wir oft im Garten Erdbeeren pflücken.
In summer, we often go pick strawberries in the garden.
pflücken
to pick / pluck
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Meanings
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Usage tips
Context clue
You can tell whether 'pflücken' means harvesting plants or plucking feathers from the object. If it is flowers, fruits, or herbs, the first meaning is intended. If it is a bird, the second meaning is intended.
EXAMPLE
Wir haben im Garten Äpfel gepflückt.
We picked apples in the garden.
Typical collocations
In its most common meaning, 'pflücken' is combined with things that you harvest by hand in nature or in the garden. Typical examples are: 'Blumen pflücken' (to pick flowers), 'Äpfel pflücken' (to pick apples), 'Beeren pflücken' (to pick berries), or 'Kräuter pflücken' (to pick herbs).
EXAMPLE
Die Kinder liefen über die Wiese und pflückten Blumen.
The children ran across the meadow and picked flowers.
Usage note
The word 'pflücken' emphasizes that the action is done with the fingers or by hand. It is used for a careful, targeted harvest of individual fruits or flowers, not for mechanical harvesting.
EXAMPLE
Sie pflückte vorsichtig eine reife Kirsche vom Baum.
She carefully picked a ripe cherry from the tree.
Register
The meaning 'to pull the feathers out of a bird' is less common in everyday life today, since most people buy meat already ready for cooking. You are more likely to find it in older texts or when traditional farming is being discussed.
EXAMPLE
Meine Großmutter hat mir erzählt, wie sie früher die Hühner selbst pflücken mussten.
My grandmother told me how they used to have to pluck the chickens themselves.
Compare with
pflücken vs sammeln
to collect / gather
'sammeln' and 'pflücken' can both be used with plants, fruits, or flowers. 'pflücken' means the specific action: you detach a flower, leaf, or fruit from the plant with your fingers. 'sammeln' is more general and emphasizes bringing several things together, for example berries, mushrooms, or flowers. So you can pick apples and then gather them in a basket. The words can be confused because they often occur in the same situation. When the plant is important, 'pflücken' fits. When the quantity or collection is important, 'sammeln' fits.
pflücken
Nach dem Frühstück pflückt Anna frische Erdbeeren im Garten.
After breakfast, Anna picks fresh strawberries in the garden.
sammeln
Im Herbst sammeln viele Familien Pilze im Wald.
In the fall, many families gather mushrooms in the forest.
In real life
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