reiten
to ride
To move around while sitting on the back of an animal, usually a horse, and guide it.
EXAMPLE
Am Wochenende gehen wir oft im Wald reiten.
On weekends we often go riding in the forest.
reiten
to ride
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Meanings
auf etwas herumreiten
to harp on something
To bring up a topic or a mistake again and again in an annoying way.
EXAMPLE
Bitte hör auf, auf diesem alten Fehler von mir herumzureiten.
Please stop harping on that old mistake of mine.
jemanden in etwas reiten
to get someone into something
To get someone into a difficult or unpleasant situation through careless or dishonest behavior.
EXAMPLE
Mit seiner unbedachten Aussage hat er das ganze Team in Schwierigkeiten geritten.
With his careless statement, he got the whole team into trouble.
Usage tips
Auxiliary verb: haben or sein
The perfect tense of 'reiten' (to ride) is formed with 'haben' when the activity is emphasized. 'sein' is used when directed movement from one place to another is described.
EXAMPLE
Als Kind habe ich oft geritten.
As a child, I often rode.
Used only for animals
The verb 'reiten' (to ride) in German is used almost only for moving around on the back of animals (horses, camels, donkeys). For vehicles such as bicycles, motorcycles, or also buses and trains, you use 'fahren' (to drive / to ride / to travel).
EXAMPLE
Im Urlaub sind wir auf Kamelen durch die Wüste geritten.
On vacation, we rode camels through the desert.
Fixed expression with dative
The expression 'auf etwas herumreiten' (to harp on something) is a fixed idiom. It requires the preposition 'auf' with the dative and describes someone bringing up a topic repeatedly and annoyingly.
EXAMPLE
Müssen wir wirklich schon wieder auf diesem alten Thema herumreiten?
Do we really have to harp on this old topic again?
Fixed expression with accusative
The idiom 'jemanden in etwas reiten' (to get someone into something) means to get a person into an unpleasant situation. The person is in the accusative; the situation is expressed with 'in' + accusative.
EXAMPLE
Mit seinen falschen Versprechungen hat er uns alle ins Unglück geritten.
With his false promises, he got all of us into disaster.
In real life
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