Question
Updated on
21 Feb 2021
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German
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Simplified Chinese (China)
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English (US)
Question about German
What is the difference between entlaufen and weglaufen ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
What is the difference between entlaufen and weglaufen ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
There is already a question like this (https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/13438271) but I failed to grasp the clear distinction between those verbs. Could any native german speaker confirm: "entlaufen" means "run away", but we think it's possible the thing can come back; in contrast, "weglaufen" means "run away" and we don't expect it returns. For both the verbs, the ultimate outcome is not known, but at least so far we have some assumption and expectation.
Answers
21 Feb 2021
Featured answer
- German
I'd rather say "entlaufen" means someone who is forced in some way to be in a certain location runs away, and "weglaufen" doesn't imply their lack of choice in regards to their location.
Like, you would say "ein entlaufener Sklave" (an escaped slave), "ein entlaufener Sträfling" (an escaped prisoner), "ein entlaufenes Haustier" (an escaped pet).
But you would say "das Kind ist weggelaufen" (the child ran away), "dieser Frau ist der Ehemann weggelaufen" (this woman's husband has run away) - if you used "entlaufen" in this context, it would only be in a sarcastic way.
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- German
- Russian
Entlaufen is usually used when you are talking about animals or pets
Aus dem Tierheim entlaufen
Eine entlaufene Katze
It means the pet ran away and you can not find it anymore.
But it can also be used for a prisoner who escaped.
Weglaufen means to physical run away and can be used in nearly context.
Ich hatte Angst und bin weggelaufen
I was afraid and ran away.
In conclusion, entlaufen is used for pets which ran away or prisoners of some sorts and have not come back yet and weglaufen can be used for everything.
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- German
Tiere entlaufen.👍
Ich habe die entlaufene Katze ins Tierheim gebracht.
Es wird ein Stau aufgrund eines entlaufenen Pferdes gemeldet.
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- German
I'd rather say "entlaufen" means someone who is forced in some way to be in a certain location runs away, and "weglaufen" doesn't imply their lack of choice in regards to their location.
Like, you would say "ein entlaufener Sklave" (an escaped slave), "ein entlaufener Sträfling" (an escaped prisoner), "ein entlaufenes Haustier" (an escaped pet).
But you would say "das Kind ist weggelaufen" (the child ran away), "dieser Frau ist der Ehemann weggelaufen" (this woman's husband has run away) - if you used "entlaufen" in this context, it would only be in a sarcastic way.
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- Vietnamese
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