entladen

Entladen is a German verb meaning to unload or to discharge, in both physical and energy-related senses. It describes removing a load from a container, vehicle, or structure, and can also refer to releasing stored energy from a battery or capacitor. As a separable prefix verb, its conjugation places the prefix at the end in the present tense: ich entlade, du entlädst, er entlädt; wir entladen, ihr entladet, sie entladen. The past participle is entladen, used with haben in the perfect: ich habe entladen; the simple past is entlud.

Etymology and form: entladen combines the prefix ent- (indicating reversal or removal) with laden (to load). The word belongs to a typical class of German separable-prefix verbs, which often shift the prefix to the sentence end in dependent clauses or in main clauses with finite verbs.

Contexts and usage: In logistics and transport, entladen describes unloading cargo from ships, trucks, or trains, for example, das Schiff wird entladen or der LKW ist entladen. The noun form Entladung or das Entladen denotes the act or process of unloading. In energy and electronics, entladen refers to discharging a battery or a capacitor, as in eine Batterie entladen or der Kondensator entladen. In everyday speech, entladen can also appear in the passive voice: Der Wagen wird entladen.

Grammatical notes: The verb typically takes a direct object in the accusative when describing the unloading of something (die Ware, den Container, den LKW). The related noun form Entladung emphasizes the process, while das Entladen is also used to denote the act itself.