malen

/ˈmaːlən/

verb A1

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

Underline = a spelling pattern that usually signals that gender.

Forms

present: malt
past: malte
perfect: hat gemalt

Meaning

to paint
- Das Kind malte ein Bild von seiner Familie.
  
  The child painted a picture of his family.
- Sie malt am liebsten Blumen und Landschaften. Ihre Bilder verkauft sie auf dem Markt.
  
  She likes to paint flowers and landscapes. She sells her pictures at the market.

Similar words

anstreichen

anstreichen is more about painting walls or surfaces, like house painting, and also separately means "to mark," like a paper; malen is more about artistic painting.

Similar in other languages

French

peindre

peindre is the French word for the same thing — both mean "to paint."

Portuguese

pintar

pintar is the Portuguese word for the same thing — both mean "to paint."

Practice

1 What does malen mean?

2 Fill the gap: Das Kind ___ ein Bild von seiner Familie.

3 Which fingerprint chart matches malen?

verb

Last updated 2026-09-20