erwärmen

Erwärmen is a German verb meaning to raise the temperature of something, i.e., to warm up. It can be used transitively with a direct object, as in ich erwärme die Suppe, and intransitively/reflexively, as sich erwärmen, to become warmer or to warm up oneself or one’s surroundings. The sense ranges from heating a physical object to warming a room or person.

Etymology and usage notes: the verb is formed with the prefix er-, which often signals a change of state, attached to wärmen (to warm). The prefix can imply completion or initiation of warming. In many contexts, especially in cooking or daily life, ersetzen sich durch synonyms like aufwärmen for reheating leftovers, though erwärmen emphasizes bringing to a serving or comfortable temperature rather than merely reheating from a cold state.

Contexts and examples: in everyday language, people say der Tee wird erwärmt (the tea is being warmed) or ich erwärme die Soße (I warm the sauce). In a household, heating a room might be described as Die Luft in dem Raum wird langsam erwärmt. In physiology or climate discourse, the noun Erwärmung or the phrase globale Erwärmung is used to refer to the process or phenomenon of warming, as in the Earth's average temperature rising over time.

Related terms: warranted distinctions exist with erhitzen, which is another common verb for applying heat, especially in cooking or industrial heating. The related noun Die Erwärmung and the adjective warm are used to discuss the concept in scientific and descriptive contexts.