pflegen

care for

verb PFLAY-gen Less Common

Also means

maintain

Usage Note

pflegen means to nurse or look after people (einen Kranken pflegen) but also to cultivate habits, hobbies and relationships, Kontakte pflegen. With zu plus infinitive it conveys 'to be in the habit of': Er pflegt früh aufzustehen. The carer noun is die Pflegekraft.

Examples

"Sie pflegt ihre alte Mutter."

Natural Translation

She cares for her elderly mother.

Free starter pack

Building your German vocabulary?

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

Related Words

Explore German by topic

GermanNow

German Numbers 1–100: Why 21 Is Said Backwards

German numbers 1 to 100 reverse the digits: 21 is einundzwanzig (one-and-twenty). Learn the und rule, the irregulars, and how to hear prices fast.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

German Two-Way Prepositions: Accusative or Dative?

Use accusative for movement into a place (wohin?) and dative for a fixed location (wo?). Master all nine German two-way prepositions with one simple test.

June 9, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

German Adjective Endings Made Simple

German adjective endings come down to one question, not three tables: does the article already show gender and case? If yes, the adjective stays lazy.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

Order Food in German: Restaurant Phrases

Order food in German with confidence: use ich hätte gern, read the Speisekarte, ask die Rechnung bitte, and handle zusammen oder getrennt like a local.

June 5, 2026 5 min read