sparen

sparen c

1. definite singular of spar
2. definite singular of spare

From Middle Dutch sparen, from Old Dutch *sparon, from Proto-Germanic *sparōną.

• IPA^(key): /ˈspaːrə(n)/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: spa‧ren
• Rhymes: -aːrən

sparen

1. (transitive) to spare, leave untouched

   Synonym: ontzien

2. (transitive) to save up

• Negerhollands: spaar, spaer
• → Caribbean Javanese: separ, nyepar
• → Papiamentu: spar, spaar

• raspen

From Middle High German sparn, from Old High German sparēn, sparōn, from Proto-West Germanic *sparēn. Compare English spare.

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃpaːrən/, [ˈʃpaː.ʁən], [ʃpaː(ɐ̯)n]

• Audio

  (file)

• Homophone: Spahn (some speakers, chiefly in casual speech)

sparen (weak, third-person singular present spart, past tense sparte, past participle gespart, auxiliary haben)

1. (transitive) to save up; to accumulate, to put aside (for a specific purpose)

   Ich spare mein Geld für ein neues Auto.

   I'm saving my money for a new car.

2. (transitive) to save, to conserve (for example energy)

   Die Heizung herunterdrehen, um Energie zu sparen.

   Turn the heat down to save energy.

3. (transitive, figuratively, with reflexive dative, often with können) to save, be able to save (as unnecessary or useless), keep something to oneself

   Du kannst dir den Atem sparen, er hört nicht auf dich.

   You can save your breath, he's not listening to you.

   Spar dir dein Gesülze! ― Keep your smooth-talk to yourself!

4. (ditransitive) to save, to spare (from effort, an unpleasant or unnecessary task)

   Synonym: ersparen (much more common)

   Danke für den Zucker, du sparst mir einen Besuch im Laden.

   Thanks for the sugar, you're sparing me a visit to the store.

• “sparen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “sparen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “sparen” in Duden online
• “sparen” in OpenThesaurus.de
• Friedrich Kluge (1883) “sparen”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891