to shovel
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to shovel
To move, pick up, or clear away material such as earth, sand, snow, or coal with a shovel.
Nach dem starken Schneefall mussten wir den ganzen Vormittag Schnee schaufeln.
After the heavy snowfall, we had to shovel snow all morning.
to wolf down
Colloquial for eating large amounts of something quickly and greedily.
Er hat sich den ganzen Teller Nudeln in fünf Minuten reingeschaufelt.
He wolfed down the whole plate of pasta in five minutes.
The verb 'schaufeln' (to shovel) comes directly from the noun 'die Schaufel' (the shovel). It describes the typical action you perform with this tool.
Gib mir die Schaufel, ich helfe dir beim Schaufeln.
Give me the shovel; I'll help you with the shoveling.
In its literal meaning, 'schaufeln' (to shovel) is almost always combined with the material that is being moved. Common objects are 'Schnee' (snow), 'Sand' (sand), 'Erde' (earth/soil), or 'Kies' (gravel).
Die Bauarbeiter schaufelten den ganzen Tag Sand von dem LKW.
The construction workers shoveled sand off the truck all day.
This meaning is colloquial and often slightly negative. It is usually used reflexively and with a direction, for example 'sich (Dativ) etwas in den Mund schaufeln' (to shovel something into one's mouth) or 'etwas in sich hineinschaufeln' (to shovel something into oneself).
Er war so hungrig, dass er sich das Essen nur so hineinschaufelte.
He was so hungry that he just wolfed the food down.
to eat / to devour
Fressen and schaufeln can be used colloquially to describe eating large amounts quickly and greedily. When used of people, fressen sounds noticeably rougher and can be insulting, while schaufeln is figurative and usually sounds less harsh. Use schaufeln in a casual description, and use fressen only when you deliberately want a coarse tone.
Der Mann schaufelt bei der Feier gierig den ganzen Kuchen in sich hinein.
At the party, the man greedily shovels the whole cake into his mouth.
Der Mann frisst bei der Feier gierig den ganzen Kuchen auf.
At the party, the man greedily stuffs himself with the whole cake.
