können

Meaning

1. (auxiliary,participle,past,preterite-present) to be able (to do or be something), to have the possibility of; can.
2. (intransitive,participle,past,preterite-present) to be able (to do or be something), to have the possibility of; can.
3. (participle,past,preterite-present,transitive) to be able (to do or be something), to have the possibility of; can.
4. (colloquial,intransitive,negative,preterite-present,regional) to be able (to do or be something), to have the possibility of; can.
5. (auxiliary,informal,participle,past,preterite-present) to be able (to do or be something), to have the possibility of; can.
6. (auxiliary,participle,past,preterite-present) to be able (to do or be something), to have the possibility of; can.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkœnən/

Etymology

From Middle High German künnen, kunnen, from Old High German kunnan, from Proto-West Germanic *kunnan, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”).

Sentences

Klar , das hätte man auch anders lösen können .

Sure, you could have solved that differently.

Es ist schon krass , wenn man überlegt , wie unterschiedlich Geschwister sein können .

It's crazy when you consider how different siblings can be.

Meine Fraktion ist aber der Ansicht , dass wir noch mehr erreichen können .

However, my group thinks that things can go further.

Wer die Platten auflegt , muss nicht tanzen können .

If you put the plates on, you don't have to be able to dance.

Die Mitgliedstaaten , ob groß oder klein , können dieses Problem nicht alleine bewältigen .

The Member States, whether they are large or small, cannot handle this problem on their own.

Wir können hier sogar von Anreizen sprechen , und das ist etwas Positives .

We can even talk about incentives here, and that's a positive thing.

Um größere Tiere erlegen zu können , jagen sie meist kooperativ im Rudel .

In order to be able to kill larger animals, they usually hunt cooperatively in the pack.

Die Siedler waren vermutlich Tschechen , es können aber auch Deutsche darunter gewesen sein .

The settlers were probably Czechs, but there may also have been Germans among them.