reißen
to tear
To separate or damage something by pulling it forcefully.
EXAMPLE
Er riss den Brief in kleine Stücke.
He tore the letter into small pieces.
reißen
to tear / to yank
reißen – riss – hat gerissen
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Meanings
reißen
to tug
To pull or tug at something with great force.
EXAMPLE
Der Hund riss heftig an der Leine.
The dog tugged hard on the leash.
reißen
to tear
To develop a tear or break apart because of tension or strain.
EXAMPLE
Die Naht riss, als er sich bückte.
The seam tore when he bent down.
reißen
to snatch
To take or pull something or someone away suddenly and forcefully.
EXAMPLE
Der Dieb riss der Frau die Tasche aus der Hand.
The thief snatched the woman's bag from her hand.
an sich reißen
to seize
To take over something forcefully or without authorization, especially power, influence, or responsibility.
EXAMPLE
Der General riss die politische Macht an sich.
The general seized political power.
reißen
to kill (prey)
Said of predatory animals: to attack another animal as prey and kill it by biting it.
EXAMPLE
Der Wolf riss ein Schaf.
The wolf killed a sheep.
aus dem Schlaf reißen
to jolt awake
To wake someone suddenly or pull them abruptly out of a peaceful state.
EXAMPLE
Das laute Gewitter riss mich aus dem Schlaf.
The loud thunderstorm jolted me awake.
sich um etwas reißen
to vie for something
To want something very badly and therefore compete with others for it.
EXAMPLE
Die Fans rissen sich um die letzten Eintrittskarten.
The fans vied for the last tickets.
einen Witz reißen
to crack a joke
Colloquial: to make a joke or say something humorous.
EXAMPLE
Er riss einen Witz über den neuen Kollegen.
He cracked a joke about the new colleague.
reißen
to stab
To cause or feel a sudden, sharp, or pulling pain.
EXAMPLE
Bei jeder Bewegung riss es in meinem Rücken.
Every movement caused a stabbing pain in my back.
reißen
to snatch
In weightlifting, to lift a barbell from the floor over the head in one fast movement.
EXAMPLE
Die Sportlerin riss im Wettkampf 90 Kilogramm.
The athlete snatched 90 kilograms in the competition.
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry reißen, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
Present
| ich | reiße |
|---|---|
| du | reißt |
| er/sie/es | reißt |
| wir | reißen |
| ihr | reißt |
| sie | reißen |
Simple past
| ich | riss |
|---|---|
| du | rissest risst |
| er/sie/es | riss |
| wir | rissen |
| ihr | risst |
| sie | rissen |
Perfect
with haben
| ich | habe gerissen bin gerissen |
|---|---|
| du | hast gerissen bist gerissen |
| er/sie/es | hat gerissen ist gerissen |
| wir | haben gerissen sind gerissen |
| ihr | habt gerissen seid gerissen |
| sie | haben gerissen sind gerissen |
Commands
| du | reiße! reiß! |
|---|---|
| ihr | reißt! |
| Sie | reißen Sie! |
Past perfect
| ich | hatte gerissen war gerissen |
|---|---|
| du | hattest gerissen warst gerissen |
| er/sie/es | hatte gerissen war gerissen |
| wir | hatten gerissen waren gerissen |
| ihr | hattet gerissen wart gerissen |
| sie | hatten gerissen waren gerissen |
Future
| ich | werde reißen |
|---|---|
| du | wirst reißen |
| er/sie/es | wird reißen |
| wir | werden reißen |
| ihr | werdet reißen |
| sie | werden reißen |
Subjunctive I
| ich | reiße |
|---|---|
| du | reißest |
| er/sie/es | reiße |
| wir | reißen |
| ihr | reißet |
| sie | reißen |
Used for reported speech.
Subjunctive II
| ich | risse |
|---|---|
| du | rissest |
| er/sie/es | risse |
| wir | rissen |
| ihr | risset |
| sie | rissen |
Used for wishes and “would”.
Other forms
| infinitive | reißen |
|---|---|
| with zu | zu reißen |
| present participle | reißend |
| past participle | gerissen |
Usage tips
Typical objects
In this meaning, 'reißen' (to tear) is often used with things that can be damaged or separated by pulling. Typical objects are paper, fabric, a rope, or a page.
EXAMPLE
Sie riss das alte Foto vorsichtig aus dem Album.
She carefully tore the old photograph out of the album.
Dative after an
When pulling or tugging, the thing following 'an' is in the dative. Common combinations include 'an der Leine reißen' (to tug on the leash), 'am Seil reißen' (to tug on the rope), and 'an der Tür reißen' (to tug on the door).
EXAMPLE
Der Junge riss ungeduldig an der verschlossenen Tür.
The boy impatiently tugged on the locked door.
Intransitive with 'sein'
In this meaning, 'reißen' (to tear) is intransitive: the thing damaged by tension or strain is the subject. The perfect tense is formed with 'sein' (to be).
EXAMPLE
Das alte Seil ist unter der schweren Last gerissen.
The old rope tore under the heavy load.
Fixed construction
When something is suddenly taken away, the affected person is in the dative and the thing taken away is in the accusative. The common construction is 'jemandem etwas aus der Hand reißen' (to snatch something from someone's hand).
EXAMPLE
Der Wind riss mir den Regenschirm aus der Hand.
The wind snatched the umbrella from my hand.
An sich reißen
The fixed expression 'etwas an sich reißen' (to seize something) is used especially with power, control, influence, or responsibility. 'Sich' refers to the person who takes something over without authorization.
EXAMPLE
Nach dem Rücktritt des Vorsitzenden riss sie die Leitung an sich.
After the chairperson's resignation, she seized control of the organization.
Predators as subjects
In this meaning, a predator or other hunting animal is usually the subject. Animals such as sheep, deer, or chickens often appear as the object.
EXAMPLE
Der Fuchs hat in der Nacht drei Hühner gerissen.
The fox killed three chickens during the night.
Aus dem Schlaf
The fixed expression 'jemanden aus dem Schlaf reißen' (to jolt someone awake) is used with 'aus' and the dative. It describes being woken suddenly by a sound or event.
EXAMPLE
Ein heftiger Knall riss die Nachbarn aus dem Schlaf.
A loud bang jolted the neighbors awake.
Um etwas reißen
In the fixed reflexive expression 'sich um etwas reißen' (to vie for something), 'um' is used with the accusative. It is often used when many people want the same desirable thing.
EXAMPLE
Die Bewerber rissen sich um die wenigen freien Plätze.
The applicants vied for the few available places.
Colloquial expression
'Einen Witz reißen' (to crack a joke) is a fixed colloquial expression. The verb is used with an accusative object; 'über' with the accusative often follows as well.
EXAMPLE
Beim Abendessen riss mein Bruder einen Witz über unseren Urlaub.
During dinner, my brother cracked a joke about our vacation.
Impersonal es
For suddenly occurring pain, 'reißen' (to stab) is often used impersonally with 'es' (it). The painful part of the body usually follows 'in' or 'an'.
EXAMPLE
Nach dem langen Lauf riss es plötzlich in meinem linken Knie.
After the long run, I suddenly felt a stabbing pain in my left knee.
Weightlifting
This meaning belongs to the technical language of weightlifting. The weight lifted is an accusative object, often together with a number of kilograms.
EXAMPLE
Im zweiten Versuch hat er 150 Kilogramm sauber gerissen.
On his second attempt, he cleanly snatched 150 kilograms.
In real life
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