to rummage / dig
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to dig / root around
To dig in or move through a soft mass such as soil, sand, or mud, often while looking for something.
Die Wildschweine haben nachts im Garten nach Wurzeln gewühlt.
The wild boars rooted around in the garden at night looking for roots.
to rummage
To search through a quantity of objects messily and intensely.
Ich musste in der ganzen Schublade wühlen, bis ich den alten Brief fand.
I had to rummage through the whole drawer until I found the old letter.
to dwell on
Figuratively, to engage intensely with troubling thoughts, feelings, or memories.
Er wollte nicht länger in den schmerzhaften Erinnerungen an seine Vergangenheit wühlen.
He no longer wanted to dwell on the painful memories of his past.
The verb 'wühlen' (to rummage / dig) is almost always used with the preposition 'in' followed by a location in the dative. This pattern applies to all meanings, whether it is a concrete place or an abstract idea.
Das Kind wühlte fröhlich im Sandkasten.
The child happily dug around in the sandbox.
In the meaning of 'graben' (to dig), 'wühlen' (to dig / root around) is very often used in connection with animals that search for food in the ground. Typical subjects are wild boars or moles.
Ein Maulwurf hat in unserem Rasen gewühlt.
A mole has been digging around in our lawn.
This meaning always describes a messy and hectic search for an object. Typical places are drawers, boxes, bags, or untidy papers.
Er wühlte im Kleiderschrank nach einem passenden Hemd.
He rummaged in the wardrobe for a suitable shirt.
You can recognize the figurative meaning from abstract nouns such as 'Vergangenheit' (past), 'Gedanken' (thoughts), or 'Gefühlen' (feelings). It describes an intense and often negative engagement with inner issues.
Sie sollte nicht ständig in diesen negativen Gedanken wühlen.
She shouldn't constantly dwell on these negative thoughts.
to brood
Grübeln and wühlen can both describe continually dwelling on troubling memories. When you grübeln, you think about them anxiously and in circles. When you wühlen in memories, you mentally bring painful experiences back to the surface and engage with them intensely.
Nach dem Streit wühlt Jana immer wieder in den schmerzhaften Erinnerungen.
After the argument, Jana keeps digging through the painful memories.
Nach dem Streit grübelt Jana ständig darüber, was sie falsch gemacht hat.
After the argument, Jana keeps brooding about what she did wrong.
