German has so many words for “use.” Nutzen, nützen, benutzen, benützen, verwenden, gebrauchen, anwenden all say “use” in the dictionary. What is the difference between all these words that mean use in German?
nuzten is about making use of something, usually in a serial or abstract way
Du sollst diese Chance nutzen wenn du erfolgreich sein willst.
= You should use this chance if you want to be successful.
Ich nutze ein Fahrrad.
= I make use of a bike. This is my daily method of travel. This might be the response to the question “Wie kommst du zur Arbeit?”
benutzen is about a concrete use of an existing precise item. It is interchangeable with benützen
Ich weiß nicht, wie man einen Mac benutzt.
= I don’t know how to use a Mac. I don’t know how to operate Mac computers. If I stood in front of an Apple computer, I would not know what to do.
Ich habe das Fahrrad benutzt.
= I used a bike. Today, on a specific day, there was a particular bike that was my method for traveling. Most likely, my car broke, and the bike was my backup.
nützen means to be useful. It is more like a description or state than a specific use.
Der Computer kan mir nützen.
= The computer can be useful to me. The subject is the tool. The indirect object is the user.
Versuche diese Website. Es kann deinem Deutsch nützen.
= Try this website. It can be useful for your German. It can help your German.
verwenden is interchangeable with benutzen and benützen but a bit more formal
Für die Einreise müssen Sie Ihren Reisepass verwenden.
= For entry, you must use your passport. You use a passport for a singular entry.
gebrauchen means to use something to fulfill a need
Ich weiß nicht, was du brauchst. Kannst du das gebrauchen?
= I don’t know what you need. Can you make use of this? Can you use this thing to fill your need?
Es gibt gebrauchte Taschentücher auf dem Tisch.
= There are used tissues on the table, tissues that someone used to fulfill their need of a runny nose.
anwenden means use something for another purpose. Abstract or concrete doesn’t matter.
Wir wenden Kriterien an, um eine gute Entscheidung zu treffen.
= We use criteria to make a decision. We apply some rules in order to help us with another action, deciding.
Ich versuche, mein sprachliches Wissen in meinem Job anzuwenden.
= I try to use my linguistic knowledge in my job. I use my knowledge for the purpose of doing my job.
In summary:
- nutzen = to use (abstract)
- nützen = to be useful, to help
- benutzen = to use (concrete)
- benützen = benutzen
- verwenden = benutzen (formal)
- gebrauchen = to use to fulfill a need
- anwenden = to use for another purpose
For once, I understand the frustration that English speakers feel when learning English. German has so many distinctions for words we think are the same. We don’t see a reason to distinguish them, but it’s important to a German understanding of the world.
You can find more content about German and other languages on my YouTube channel. If you are learning English, I have many explanations about English on this website as well.
Viel Glück beim Deutschlernen.
