German - English (British) translations for "tun"
"tun" German translation
Translation
do
Definition
The German verb tun means to do or to act.
Part of speech
verb
Translations
This is is an experimental feature. Please report any issues.Meaning: to do
Was tust du heute?
What are you doing today?
Meaning: to put
Kannst du die Bücher ins Regal tun?
Can you put the books on the shelf?
Meaning: to place
Bitte tun Sie das Glas auf den Tisch.
Please place the glass on the table.
Meaning: to cause
Das tut mir leid.
I'm sorry.
Meaning: to wear
Ich tue meine Jacke an.
I'm putting on my jacket.
Conjugations
Present
- ich tue
- du tust
- er/sie/es tut
- wir tun
- ihr tut
- sie/Sie tun
Past
- ich tat
- du tatst
- er/sie/es tat
- wir taten
- ihr tatet
- sie/Sie taten
Future
- ich werde tun
- du wirst tun
- er/sie/es wird tun
- wir werden tun
- ihr werdet tun
- sie/Sie werden tun
Pluperfect
- ich hatte getan
- du hattest getan
- er/sie/es hatte getan
- wir hatten getan
- ihr hattet getan
- sie/Sie hatten getan
Simple Past
- ich tat
- du tatst
- er/sie/es tat
- wir taten
- ihr tatet
- sie/Sie taten
Examples
This is is an experimental feature. Please report any issues.A1: Was tust du heute? Ich gehe einkaufen.
What are you doing today? I am going shopping.
A2: Kannst du mir bitte sagen, was ich tun soll?
Can you please tell me what I should do?
A2: Ich tue mein Bestes, um pünktlich zu sein.
I am doing my best to be on time.
B1: Gestern habe ich den ganzen Tag nichts getan.
Yesterday I didn't do anything all day.
B2: Wenn ich Zeit habe, werde ich das Projekt fertigstellen.
When I have time, I will finish the project.
B2: Er hat versprochen, dass er es tun wird, aber er hat es nicht getan.
He promised he would do it but he didn't.
C1: Ich hätte nie gedacht, dass ich so etwas tun würde.
I never thought I would do something like that.
C2: Nachdem ich alle Optionen abgewogen hatte, entschied ich mich zu tun, was am besten schien.
After weighing all the options, I decided to do what seemed best.
C2: Wenn ich gewusst hätte, was passieren würde, hätte ich es niemals getan.
If I had known what would happen, I would have never done it.
Advanced Description
This is is an experimental feature. Please report any issues.Tun is a very common and versatile verb in the German language. It can be used in a variety of contexts, from describing physical actions like walking or eating, to more abstract concepts like thinking or feeling. In many cases, it can be translated simply as 'to do' or 'to act'.
One important thing to note about tun is that it is often used in combination with other verbs to create compound verbs. For example, adding tun to the verb sagen (to say) creates the compound verb sagen tun, which means 'to say/do'. This can be a bit confusing for learners of German, but it's an important aspect of the language to understand.
Another interesting thing about tun is that it is often used in idiomatic expressions that don't have a direct translation into English. For example, the phrase Was soll ich tun? (literally 'What should I do?') is often used to mean 'What do you want me to do?' or 'What's the plan?' Understanding these idioms can help learners of German sound more natural when speaking with native speakers.