tasten
to feel
To carefully feel or search with the hands or fingers, usually because one cannot see anything.
EXAMPLE
Im Dunkeln tastete sie nach dem Lichtschalter.
In the dark, she felt for the light switch.
tasten
to feel
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Meanings
sich tasten
to feel one's way
To move forward slowly and carefully by checking the way with one's hands or feet.
EXAMPLE
Er tastete sich durch den dichten Nebel zum Haus.
He felt his way through the thick fog to the house.
Usage tips
Word family
The verb 'tasten' (to feel) is related to the noun 'die Taste' (key, e.g. on a keyboard or a piano). Both have to do with touch by the fingers.
EXAMPLE
Er bedient die Tastatur, ohne hinzusehen; er tastet nur nach den richtigen Buchstaben.
He operates the keyboard without looking; he just feels for the right letters.
Fixed preposition
When you are searching for something, 'tasten' (to feel) is used with the preposition 'nach' and the dative. The structure is: nach etwas tasten (to feel for something).
EXAMPLE
Sie tastete mit der Hand nach ihrem Schlüssel in der Tasche.
She felt in her bag with her hand for her key.
Reflexive use
In the meaning 'sich vorsichtig bewegen' (to move carefully), the verb is reflexive: 'sich tasten' (to feel one's way). It is often followed by a preposition that describes the path, e.g. 'durch' (through), 'an … entlang' (along), or 'zu' (to).
EXAMPLE
Der Blinde tastete sich vorsichtig an der Wand entlang.
The blind man carefully felt his way along the wall.
Compare with
tasten vs fühlen
to feel
When checking a pulse, tasten refers to actively and carefully searching with the fingers. Fühlen, by contrast, refers to perceiving the pulse once it has been found. If you are searching for the pulse, you use tasten; if you perceive the beat, you use fühlen.
tasten
Die Pflegerin tastet vorsichtig nach dem Puls am Handgelenk.
The nurse carefully feels for the pulse at the wrist.
fühlen
Die Pflegerin fühlt den regelmäßigen Puls unter ihren Fingern.
The nurse can feel the regular pulse under her fingers.
In real life
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