achten

respect

verb AHKH-ten Less Common

Also means

pay attention

Usage Note

achten means to respect someone, but with auf it shifts to 'pay attention to' or 'watch out for': auf die Kinder achten. Don't confuse it with separable beachten (to heed) or verachten (to despise). The related noun Achtung also serves as a warning shout.

Examples

"Du musst auf den Verkehr achten."

Natural Translation

You have to pay attention to the traffic.

Literal Translation

You must on the traffic pay-attention.

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