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German Word Family

kennen

Learn kennen once, then see how related verbs, nouns, and compounds are built from the same root.

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kennen word familyRadial map of the kennen word family. Related words: anerkennen, bekennen, erkennen, kennenlernen, verkennen, wiedererkennen, die Kenntnis, die Anerkennung, die Erkenntnis, bekannt, unbekannt.kennen — to know (person)kennento know (person)anerkennen — recognize / acknowledge · an + erkennenanerkennenrecognize / ackno…bekennen — to confess, to profess · be + kennenbekennento confess, to pr…erkennen — to recognize · er + kennenerkennento recognizekennenlernen — to get to know · kennen + lernenkennenlernento get to knowverkennen — to misjudge · ver + kennenverkennento misjudgewiedererkennen — recognize again · wieder + erkennenwiedererkennenrecognize againdie Kenntnis — knowledge · kennen → die Kenntnisdie Kenntnisknowledgedie Anerkennung — recognition · anerkennen → die Anerkennungdie Anerkennungrecognitiondie Erkenntnis — insight / finding · erkennen → die Erkenntnisdie Erkenntnisinsight / findingbekannt — known / familiar · bekennen → bekanntbekanntknown / familiarunbekannt — unknown · un- + bekanntunbekanntunknown

What to watch for

Do not merge kennen, wissen and erkennen into one family. kennen is to be acquainted with, wissen is to know a fact, and erkennen is to recognise: three different words, only one of which belongs here.

Prefixed verbs

  • anerkennen recognize / acknowledge B1 Shifted meaning

    an + erkennen

  • bekennen Coming soon to confess, to profess B1 Not predictable

    be + kennen

  • erkennen to recognize A2 Shifted meaning

    er + kennen

  • kennenlernen to get to know B1 Shifted meaning

    kennen + lernen

  • verkennen Coming soon to misjudge B1 Not predictable

    ver + kennen

  • wiedererkennen recognize again B1

    wieder + erkennen

Derived nouns

Derived adjectives

  • bekannt known / familiar A2 Shifted meaning

    bekennen → bekannt

  • unbekannt unknown A2

    un- + bekannt