How "to carry" and "to wear" are the same in German

Word of the Day: “tragen” – This German word can mean both “to bear” (as in “to carry”) and “to wear” (as in clothing):

– “Ich trage immer den Rucksack.” – “I always carry the backpack.”
– “Ich trage immer saubere Jeans.” – “I always wear clean jeans.”

The word has a common origin with the English “to drag”.

Note: In order to express “to bear” in the sense of “to be able to stand something/someone”, the German word is “ertragen”:

– “Ich kann den Gedanken daran nicht ertragen.” – “I can’t bear the thought of it.”

For “to tolerate” or “to stomach” (usually for things that are ingested) the word is “vertragen”:

“Ich kann Knoblauch nicht vertragen.” – “I can’t tolerate/stand garlic.”


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