können

German (Berlin)

/ˈkœnən/

verb-irregular
Definitions
  • (auxiliary) to be able be able (to do something); can.
  • (auxiliary) to be allowed (to do something); to be permitted (to do something); may.
  • (transitive) to know how to do (something); to know; to understand; to be able to do (something); to be capable of; can do (something).
  • (intransitive) to be able to do something implied; can.
  • (intransitive) to be possible, to make sense

Etymology

Inherited from Old High German kunnan inherited from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną (know, know how, recognize, be able, be familiar with) derived from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (know, recognize), *ǵneh₃- (know, recognize).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*ǵneh₃-

Gloss

know, recognize

Concept
Semantic Field

Cognition

Ontological Category

Action/Process

Kanji

知

Emoji

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms