nachschlagen

to look up (in a reference work)

verb NAKH-shlah-gen Rare

Usage Note

Nachschlagen means to look up a word or fact in a dictionary, textbook or other reference source: ein Wort im Wörterbuch nachschlagen. It is a key study skill verb in German school life and frequently appears in instructions (schlagen Sie das Wort nach).

Examples

"Wenn du ein Wort nicht kennst, solltest du es nachschlagen."

Natural Translation

If you don't know a word you should look it up.

Literal Translation

When you a word not know, should you it look-up.

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