bewahrst

Bewahrst is the second-person singular present tense form of the German verb bewahren, meaning to preserve, safeguard, or keep. It is used when addressing someone informally with the pronoun du, as in Du bewahrst das Kunstwerk vor Beschädigung or Du bewahrst das Geheimnis gut. Bewahren is a transitive verb and typically requires a direct object, while additional meaning can be added with prepositional phrases such as vor, to indicate what is being protected against.

Bewahren also appears in compound forms, most notably aufbewahren, meaning to store away or keep in reserve. In the present tense the stem remains bewahr-, and the prefix wird separated in main clauses: Du bewahrst das Dokument auf. The construction with vor uses the preposition vor followed by the dative: Du bewahrst mich vor Fehlern. This separable-prefix form changes the position of the prefix in finite clauses but retains the same core meaning of preservation or protection.

Etymology and usage notes: bewahren originates from older Germanic roots and is closely related to other Germanic terms for guarding or keeping. The word is common in everyday speech as well as in written language. It covers a range of senses, from physical protection of objects or people to keeping memories, rules, secrets, or conditions safe from loss or harm. The second-person form bewahrst therefore signals direct address and a present-time action of preservation.