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handeln

act

verb HAN-deln Common

Also means

trade

Usage Note

handeln means 'to act' or 'to trade', but the impersonal es handelt sich um ('it is a matter of / it concerns') is a fixed phrase worth memorising whole. With mit it means 'to deal in' goods, and handeln alone at a market means 'to haggle'.

Examples

"Wir müssen schnell handeln."

Natural Translation

We have to act quickly.

Literal Translation

We must quickly act.

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