wattieren

to apply with cotton wool

verb va-TEER-en Rare

Origin: from French 'ouate' (cotton wool)

Also means

to pad, quilt

Usage Note

Wattieren in personal care means to apply a product using cotton wool (Watte) — ein Tonic wattieren = to apply toner with a cotton pad. In other contexts it means to pad or quilt fabric.

Examples

"Trage das Gesichtswasser mit einem Wattepad auf."

Natural Translation

Apply the facial toner with a cotton pad.

Literal Translation

Apply the facial water with a cotton pad on.

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 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

Weil vs Denn vs Da: "Because" in German

Weil and da send the verb to the end; denn keeps it in second position. Here's how to pick the right German "because" and place the verb correctly.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

Wo, Wohin, Woher: Three Ways to Say Where

German splits where into three: wo (location), wohin (destination), and woher (origin). Learn the wo vs wohin rule, the hin/her logic, and common mistakes.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

German Cases Explained Simply (4 Cases)

German has four cases, and each answers one question: wer, wen, wem, wessen. Learn nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive without drowning in charts.

June 5, 2026 6 min read