zapfen
German, verb
zapfen is spelled Z-A-P-F-E-N (6 letters) and appears 1.8 times per million words in written German, the 26,348th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Zapfen is a German verb meaning “to tap, to draw, to dispense” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Zapfen is a different word: “plug, bung, pin, tap, spigot”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “Flüssigkeit abfließen lassen oder ableiten”.
What does zapfen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to tap, to draw, to dispense
noun
- 1
masculineplug, bung, pin, tap, spigot
- 2
masculinepivot
- 3
masculinecone (such as of a fir)
- 4
masculinecone (in the retina)
noun
- 1
neutergerund of zapfen
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. Flüssigkeit abfließen lassen oder ableiten 2. mit Zapfen verbinden
noun: 1. kleiner Stab oder Konus, der aus einer Ebene herausragt 2. ährenartiger meist aufrechter Blütenstand mit meist schraubig angeordneten Staubblättern bei männlichem oder Samenschuppen bei weiblichem 3. trockener Fruchtverband, der sich aus dem weiblichen Blütenstand [2] während der Fruchtreife entwickelt hat, wie er für Koniferen typisch ist 4. Spund eines Fasses
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 zapfen
- Zapfens genitive
- Zäpfchen diminutive neuter
- Zäpflein diminutive neuter
- Zapferl diminutive neuter
- Zappen alternative
- Zapfe alternative
- Zapf alternative
- zapft present singular third-person
- zapfte past
- gezapft participle past
- haben auxiliary
- zapfend participle present
- zapfe first-person indicative present
- zapfst indicative present second-person
- zapfest second-person singular subjunctive
- zapfet plural second-person subjunctive
- zapften first-person indicative plural
- zapftest indicative preterite second-person
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to zapfen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is zapfen in German?
zapfen appears 1.8 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).