01
ruinieren
to ruin
To destroy or severely damage something materially or financially.
example
Der Wasserschaden hat die gesamte Ernte ruiniert.
The water damage ruined the entire harvest.
ruinieren
to ruin
Checking...
Loading your saved state.
Meanings
01 / 03
Usage tips
Word structure
Verbs ending in '-ieren' often come from foreign languages, like 'ruinieren' (to ruin) from French. These verbs are always regular and inseparable, which makes their conjugation easier.
EXAMPLE
Er ruinierte sein Hemd mit dem Rotwein.
He ruined his shirt with the red wine.
Sentence structure with accusative
'Ruinieren' (to ruin) is a transitive verb and almost always needs an accusative object. You always ruin someone or something.
EXAMPLE
Die schlechte Kritik hat den Film ruiniert.
The bad review ruined the film.
Reflexive use
When a person harms themselves, the verb is used reflexively: 'sich ruinieren' (to ruin oneself). It is often supplemented with the preposition 'mit' (with) and the dative to show what caused the damage.
EXAMPLE
Sie hat sich mit den Krediten für das Haus finanziell ruiniert.
She financially ruined herself with the loans for the house.
Typical collocations
In a figurative sense, 'ruinieren' (to ruin) is often used with abstract nouns. Typical combinations are 'den Ruf ruinieren' (to ruin one's reputation), 'die Gesundheit ruinieren' (to ruin one's health), 'die Karriere ruinieren' (to ruin one's career), or 'eine Überraschung ruinieren' (to ruin a surprise).
EXAMPLE
Durch seine Lügen hat er seinen guten Ruf ruiniert.
Through his lies, he ruined his good reputation.
Compare with
ruinieren vs zerstören
to destroy
'zerstören' and 'ruinieren' can both mean that something is badly damaged. 'zerstören' sounds more direct and fits well when something becomes broken or unusable, for example a house or a plan. 'ruinieren' is often used when something ends up in a very bad state because of damage, financial problems, or wrong behavior. It is especially common with reputation, career, health, plans, or finances. Learners may confuse the words because both can also be used figuratively. As a guide: 'zerstören' emphasizes breaking or destroying something, while 'ruinieren' emphasizes the bad state or loss afterward.
ruinieren
Zu wenig Schlaf ruiniert auf Dauer die Gesundheit.
Too little sleep ruins your health in the long run.
zerstören
Ein falscher Klick kann wichtige Dateien auf dem Computer zerstören.
One wrong click can destroy important files on the computer.
In real life
Loading video examples...