overwordExplorer
GERMAN · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

spielen.

to play (engage in some activity for fun or entertainment)

7 characters2 syllables approx.Deutsch language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˈʃpiːlən/
  1. to play (engage in some activity for fun or entertainment)

    intransitive · weak
    Die Kinder spielen draußen.
    Die Katze spielt mit einer Schnur.
  2. to play, to engage in (a game, a sport, etc.)

    transitive · weak
    Karten spielen
  3. to play, to perform (a piece of music, a role in theater or a movie)

    transitive · weak
  4. to play, to listen to (a radio, a recording, etc.)

    transitive · weak
  5. to play, to perform on (a musical instrument)

    transitive · weak
    Ich spiele Klavier
  6. to act like, to behave like

    transitive · weak
    den Narren spielen
  7. to take place, to be set (in a particular time or place; of fiction)

    intransitive · weak
    Das Spiel spielt in einer postapokalyptischen Zukunft.
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle High German spil(e)n, from Old High German spilōn, from Proto-West Germanic *spilōn. Cognate with Bavarian spuin, Alemannic German spiele.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.