Anhalten

Anhalten is a German verb with several related meanings centered on stopping or pausing. Its most common senses are to stop the movement of a vehicle or person, to bring something to a halt, and to pause a process or ongoing activity. The noun form das Anhalten refers to the act or instance of stopping.

In practical use, anhalten can be transitive or intransitive. Transitive usage indicates causing something to stop, as in Der Fahrer hat den Wagen angehalten oder Die Polizei hat den Verdächtigen angehalten. Intransitive usage describes something stopping on its own, for example Der Zug hielt an or Die Ampel zeigt Rot, also hält der Bus an. The separable-prefix form is typical in everyday speech: Ich halte an der Kreuzung an, Wir halten an der Haltestelle an.

Conjugation and tense formation follow standard patterns for separable German verbs. In present tense, the prefix is separated from halten and appears at the end of the clause: ich halte an, du hältst an, er hält an. The past participle is angehalten, and the perfect tense is usually formed with haben: Der Wagen hat an der Ampel angehalten; Der Regen hat den ganzen Tag angehalten.

Beyond movement, anhalten can describe the persistence or cessation of non-physical phenomena: Der Regen hält den ganzen Tag an; Der Streit hält seit Tagen an. The verb also yields the related noun das Anhalten, used for formal references to stopping or ceasing, such as in technical, legal, or meteorological contexts.

Etymologically, anhalten derives from halten with the prefix an-, indicating contact or approach, and has long been used to express bringing something to a stop or to hold in a paused state.