durchzuschneiden

Durchzuschneiden is the infinitive with zu of the German verb durchschneiden. It denotes the action of cutting something completely through or across it, often along a defined line or seam. The base verb durchschneiden is a separable-prefix verb: in finite forms it appears as ich schneide durch, du schneidest durch, er/sie/es schneidet durch, wir schneiden durch, ihr schneidet durch, sie schneiden durch; the past participle is durchgeschnitten. The zu-infinitive form durchzuschneiden is used in constructions such as Ich habe vor, das Material durchzuschneiden, or Sie planten, den Stoff durchzuschneiden.

Usage and contexts

Durchschneiden is common in practical contexts involving physical cutting, for example when using a knife, scissors, a saw, or other tools to cut through rope, fabric, metal, plastic, or cables. It is also used in medical or anatomical language to describe incisions that go completely through tissue or structures, for instance a vessel or a membrane, though more specialized terms are often preferred in professional settings. Metaphorically, durchschneiden can appear in figurative expressions describing the act of cutting through a barrier, a line of argument, or bureaucratic procedures, though such usage is less common than the literal sense.

Nominal and related forms

The act can be nominalized as Das Durchzuschneiden, referring to the process of cutting through. Related terms include durchschneiden as the verb, durchschneidend as an adjective form, and the related noun das Durchschneiden, when discussing methods, safety considerations, or procedural steps.

See also

Schneiden, Prefix verbs with durch-, and terms for specific cutting contexts such as Kabeldurchschneiden or Gewebe durchschneiden.