German Word Family

zahlen

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

What to watch for

This is the PAYMENT family. Keep it apart from die Zahl, meaning a number: the two are historically connected, but a learner looking up bezahlen has a completely different intent from one looking up Zahl.

Prefixed verbs

  • bezahlen to pay A1

    be + zahlen

  • einzahlen to deposit (money) B1

    ein + zahlen

  • auszahlen pay out B1

    aus + zahlen

  • zurückzahlen repay B1

    zurück + zahlen

  • nachzahlen Coming soon to pay the balance, to pay arrears B1

    nach + zahlen

Derived nouns

Compound