begleichen

Begleichen is a German verb meaning to settle, satisfy, or extinguish a debt, claim, or obligation, typically by payment or fulfillment of the required conditions. It is used to describe bringing an account into balance or fulfilling a financial or legal obligation, often implying complete satisfaction of the claim.

Usage and nuance: Begleichen appears in formal or bureaucratic contexts, such as accounting, law, and business correspondence. It is commonly used with objects like Rechnung (invoice), Forderung (claim), or Schuld (debt): zum Beispiel, eine Rechnung beglichen, eine Forderung beglichen. In everyday language, people more often say zahlen or bezahlen, but beglichen is widely understood in written or formal German. The present tense forms include ich begleiche, du begleichst, er begleicht; the preterite is er beglich; the past participle is beglichen. The passive form is Die Rechnung ist beglichen. A related noun is Begleichung, as in Begleichung der Forderung.

Etymology: The term is formed with the prefix be- added to gleichen (to be equal or to match), with the sense of making something equal by settling it. The usage traces back to Middle High German and developed into the modern sense of “to settle/pay a debt or claim.”

See also: bezahlen, ausgleichen, begleichen im rechtlichen/verbindlichen Sinn.

Note: Begleichen conveys a完成 settlement and is somewhat formal; it emphasizes that a debt or obligation has been fully satisfied rather than merely paid in part.