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GERMAN · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

wirken.

to function, to be effective, to work

6 characters2 syllables approx.Deutsch language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˈvɪrkən/[ˈvɪʁ.kŋ̍][ˈvɪɐ̯-][ʋ-]
  1. to function, to be effective, to work

    intransitive · weak
    Das neue Medikament wirkt nicht so gut wie Aspirin.
    Dieser Köder wirkt wie ein Fischmagnet.
  2. to appear, to seem

    copulative · impersonal · sometimes · weak
    Dieses Essen wirkt etwas fade.
    Es wirkt, als wollten sie das Projekt abbrechen.
  3. to have an effect

    intransitive · weak
    Lassen Sie die einzigartige Landschaft auf sich wirken.
  4. to perform (some action), to achieve (some effect), to work (cause to happen), to cast (a spell)

    transitive · weak
    Die Therapie wirkt Wunder bei meiner Arthritis.
  5. to work or be active in a certain field or industry

    intransitive · weak
    Ich habe einige Jahre als Architekt gewirkt.
  6. to work

    intransitive · weak
    Wir wirken für den Frieden und den Schutz der Umwelt.
  7. to take effect, to be effective

    intransitive · weak
    Die neue Regel wirkt ab sofort.
  8. to knit (with yarn), to brocade

    weak
  9. to knead

    weak
Where this word comes from

From Middle High German wirken, from Old High German wirken, from Proto-West Germanic *wirkijan, from Proto-Germanic *wirkijaną. Early on merged with Middle High German würken, from Old High German wurken, from Proto-West Germanic *wurkijan, from Proto-Germanic *wurkijaną, closely related to the first-mentioned verb. The i-form prevailed in Central German, the ü-form in Upper German; the latter was displaced from the written language in the 18th century.

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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.