Anheben

Anheben is a German verb that describes the act of lifting or raising something. It can refer to a physical movement of moving an object upward, but it is also used for increasing levels, amounts, or values. The noun form das Anheben denotes the act itself.

Grammatically, anheben is a separable verb in the present tense: Ich hebe das Gewicht an. In the perfect, the prefix is separated and the past participle is angehoben (Ich habe das Gewicht angehoben). The meaning changes with context, from literal lifting to figurative increases in numbers, prices, or levels, and to mechanical or technical lifting in engineering and construction.

Common applications include physical lifting, such as lifting a box or lifting a car with a jack; economic or business contexts, where prices, fees, or interest rates are raised (Die Preise wurden angehoben); and technical or construction settings, where components or structures are elevated to allow work underneath. The term can also appear in figurative phrases, for example in contexts describing an increase in mood, expectation, or performance, although more neutral expressions like erhöhen or steigern are often preferred in such cases.

The noun das Anheben refers to the process or result of lifting. It is used in technical, industrial, and planning documents to describe the action of raising or elevating something, as in "das Anheben der Brücke" or "das Anheben des Kranarms." Synonyms vary by context and include heben, erhöhen, and anheben in specialized technical language.