schöpfen
German, verb
schöpfen is a German verb meaning “to scoop up, to draw (water, sand etc.) with a bucket” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Schöpfen is a different word: “dative plural of Schopf”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “etwas aus einer großen Menge Flüssigkeit entnehmen”.
What does schöpfen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to scoop up, to draw (water, sand etc.) with a bucket
Sie ging zum Dorfbrunnen, um Wasser zu schöpfen.
- 2
to draw (air), to inhale deeply
Als er oben war, blieb er stehen und schöpfte Luft.
- 3
to draw, gain (strength, energy)
Nutzen Sie den Urlaub, um wieder Kraft zu schöpfen.
- 4
to take, gain, derive (something) from (in this sense there is a certain semantic overlap with the verb for “create” in etymology 2)
Aus dem Reichtum seiner Sprache schöpft der Dichter immer neue Wörter und Bedeutungen.
noun
- 1
masculinedative plural of Schopf
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. etwas aus einer großen Menge Flüssigkeit entnehmen 2. Flüssigkeit, mit einem kleinen Gefäß oder den Händen 3. Feststoffe, mit einem Netz oder Ähnlichem 4. Luft einatmen
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of schöpfen
- schöpft present singular third-person
- schöpfte past
- geschöpft participle past
- haben auxiliary
- schöpfend participle present
- schöpfe first-person indicative present
- schöpfst indicative present second-person
- schöpfest second-person singular subjunctive
- schöpfet plural second-person subjunctive
- schöpften first-person indicative plural
- schöpftest indicative preterite second-person
- schöpftet indicative plural preterite
- schöpf imperative second-person singular
- habe geschöpft first-person indicative multiword-construction
- haben geschöpft first-person indicative multiword-construction
- schöpfe! imperative singular
- schöpf! imperative singular
- schöpft! imperative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to schöpfen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is schöpfen in German?
schöpfen appears 3.2 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).