dürfen ↔ may · German · learnfeliz · Learn new languages for free!

Auf der Insel dürfen sich höchstens acht
8

Touristen gleichzeitig aufhalten .

A maximum of eight tourists may stay on the island at the same time.

Sie dürfen entwaffnet und gefangen genommen werden .

They may be disarmed and captured.

Wir dürfen ein
1

Umweltproblem nicht
🚫

durch neue Probleme ersetzen .

We must not replace an environmental problem with new problems.

Insgesamt dürfen die Teams somit maximal zwei
2

Spieler auswählen .

In total, the teams may therefore select a maximum of two players.

Wir dürfen nicht
🚫

vergessen , dass Tadschikistan

das ärmste Land der ehemaligen Sowjetrepubliken ist .

We must not forget that Tajikistan is the poorest country in the former Soviet republics.

(auxiliary, preterite-present) to be allowed (to do something); to be permitted (to do something); may
(intransitive, participle, past, preterite-present, transitive) to be allowed or permitted to do something implied or previously stated; may
(auxiliary, preterite-present, subjunctive-ii) expresses a prediction with mild doubt, that something is estimated or probable
(colloquial, preterite-present) must, to have [got] to, gotta
(obsolete, preterite-present, transitive, with-genitive) to need, to require

Frequency

Basel-Landschaft

derfe

St. Gallen

tüüra

Data provided by: Deutsch-Schweizerdeutsches Wörterbuch

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈdʏrfən/

Inherited from Middle High German

dürfen

Inherited from Old High German

durfan

Cognate with Ancient Greek

τέρπω

Cognate with English

tharf

In summary

From Middle High German durfen, dürfen, from Old High German durfan, from Proto-West Germanic *þurban, cognate with Ancient Greek τέρπω (térpō, “I delight, please”), English tharf.