Polyglot Dictionary

knirschen

/ˈknɪʁʃn̩/

verb B2

der (masc.) die (fem.) das (neut.)

Underline = a spelling pattern that usually signals that gender.

V Register Neutral Era Current Frequency Common Domain General Tone Neutral

Forms

present
knirscht
past
knirschte
perfect
hat geknirscht

Meaning

  1. to crunch, to grind

    • Der Schnee knirscht unter den Schuhen.

      The snow crunches under the shoes.

    • Der Schnee knirschte unter unseren Stiefeln. Es war ein klarer, kalter Morgen.

      The snow crunched under our boots. It was a clear, cold morning.

V Category Action Concreteness Concrete Agency Voluntary Duration Durative Transitivity Transitive

Similar words

mahlen

Both involve grinding — knirschen is the crunching/grinding sound (gravel underfoot, grinding teeth); mahlen is the mechanical process of grinding something into smaller pieces (coffee, grain).

Similar in other languages

English

grind

grind is the English word for the same thing — both mean "to crunch, to grind."

Practice

1 What does knirschen mean?

2 Fill the gap: Der Schnee ___ unter den Schuhen.

3 Which fingerprint chart matches knirschen?

verb

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