Anziehen

Anziehen is a German verb with two primary meanings. It can mean to put on clothing or to dress someone, and it can also mean to attract or draw toward something or someone. The verb is a separable-prefix verb in many uses, and its meaning changes with context.

In the sense of clothing, anziehen is used to describe the act of dressing. In present tense you typically place the prefix at the end of the clause, for example: Ich ziehe die Jacke an. The reflexive form sich anziehen means to get dressed oneself: Ich ziehe mir die Jacke an. In perfect tense, the verb takes the auxiliary haben: Ich habe die Jacke angezogen.

In the sense of attracting, anziehen means to draw interest, attention, or people toward something. It is used transitively and also with an object that represents what attracts other people: Die Werbung zieht viele Kunden an. Der Ort zieht Touristen an. In subordinate clauses the prefix again appears in its position at the end: … dass die Werbung viele Kunden anzieht.

Synonyms and related constructions include anlocken or attractieren in more formal or literary contexts. The opposed verbs are ausziehen (to take off clothing) and abziehen (to withdraw or to deduct). The same base verb forms a wide range of compounds in German, depending on the intended meaning.