verzieren
to decorate
To decorate something with ornaments or decorations in order to make it look nicer or more festive.
EXAMPLE
Die Kinder verzierten die Plätzchen mit bunten Streuseln.
The children decorated the cookies with colorful sprinkles.
verzieren
to decorate
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Meanings
sich verzieren
to take off
An outdated or joking colloquial expression for 'to leave' or 'to make oneself scarce.'
EXAMPLE
Nachdem er das Chaos angerichtet hatte, verzierte er sich schnell.
After he had caused the mess, he quickly took off.
Usage tips
Inseparable verb
'Verzieren' (to decorate) is an inseparable verb because it begins with the prefix 'ver-'. The prefix remains firmly attached to the verb stem 'zieren' in all conjugated forms and sentence positions.
EXAMPLE
Sie verziert den Kuchen für die Geburtstagsfeier.
She is decorating the cake for the birthday party.
Sentence structure with preposition
If you want to say what something is decorated with, you use the preposition 'mit' followed by the dative. The pattern is: someone decorates something (accusative) with something (dative).
EXAMPLE
Er hat den Brief mit einer kleinen Zeichnung verziert.
He decorated the letter with a small drawing.
Colloquial expression
The reflexive form 'sich verzieren' is colloquial and means 'to make oneself scarce' or 'to disappear.' It is often used slightly ironically or jokingly and is not part of standard language.
EXAMPLE
Als er die Polizei sah, hat er sich schnell verziert.
When he saw the police, he quickly took off.
Context clue
The two meanings are easy to distinguish: the standard meaning 'schmücken' (to decorate) is used with an accusative object. The colloquial meaning 'weggehen' (to leave) is always reflexive, that is, with 'sich'.
EXAMPLE
Sie verziert das Geschenk mit einer Schleife.
She decorates the gift with a bow.
Compare with
verzieren vs schmücken
to decorate
Schmücken and verzieren both mean making something more attractive by decorating it. Schmücken is broader and also works for giving an entire room or object a festive appearance. Verzieren focuses more on ornaments or decorative details added to an object.
verzieren
Für den Geburtstag verzieren wir die Torte mit feinen Mustern aus Zucker.
We are decorating the cake with delicate sugar patterns for the birthday.
schmücken
Für den Geburtstag schmücken wir die Torte mit kleinen Kerzen.
We are decorating the cake with small candles for the birthday.
In real life
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