overwordExplorer
GERMAN · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

tun.

to do (to perform or execute an action)

3 characters1 syllables approx.Deutsch language

Meaning & usage

verb/tuːn/[tuːn]
  1. to do (to perform or execute an action)

    irregular
    Tu es!
    Man tut, was man kann.
  2. to do (harm or good, but negative by default)

    irregular
    Der tut Ihnen nichts!
    Mein Mann hat mir so viel Gutes getan.
  3. to pretend, to play-act

    informal · irregular
    Er hat nur so getan.
    Er tut, als ob er nichts wüsste.
  4. to put, to place, to add (especially of smaller objects or ingredients)

    colloquial · irregular
    Tu das hier rein.
    Ich würde noch was Salz an die Kartoffeln tun.
  5. to work, to function

    colloquial · impersonal · irregular
    Die Uhr tut’s nicht mehr.
  6. to make a difference; to be different

    Germany · Northern · Western · colloquial · irregular · reflexive
    Tut sich das viel?
    Die beiden Kameras tun sich nichts.
  7. to happen, to be going on (as opposed to a lack of activity)

    impersonal · informal · irregular · reflexive
    Und, tut sich heute etwas?
    Derzeit tut sich viel.
  8. Used with the preceding infinitive of another verb that has been fronted to the first position, typically for strong emphasis or contrast with another verb

    auxiliary · informal · irregular
    Er singt immer noch gern, aber tanzen tut er gar nicht mehr.
  9. Used with the following infinitive of another verb, without fronting, to convey continuousness or general emphasis on an action

    auxiliary · colloquial · irregular · proscribed
    Ich tu doch zuhören!
    Ich tu das jetzt mal aufräumen.
  10. Used in the past subjunctive with the infinitive of another verb to form the conditional tense (instead of standard würde)

    Southern-Germany · colloquial · irregular · nonstandard
    Ich tät mir das noch mal überlegen.
Where this word comes from

From Middle High German tuon, from Old High German tuon, from Proto-West Germanic *dōn, from Proto-Germanic *dōną, derived from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, set, place”). Cognate with English do.

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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.