Skip to content

färben

to dye (hair)

verb FER-ben Rare
Body & Health Personal Care

Also means

to colour, to stain

Usage Note

färben in personal care means dyeing hair a new colour. Sich die Haare färben (to dye one's hair) or färben lassen (to have it dyed) are typical constructions. Distinguished from tönen (semi-permanent tint) as more permanent.

Examples

"Sie ließ sich die Haare zum ersten Mal mit 40 Jahren dunkelrot färben."

Natural Translation

She had her hair dyed dark red for the first time at the age of 40.

Literal Translation

She let herself the hair for the first time at 40 years dark-red dye.

Free starter pack

Building your German vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common German words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore German by topic