rufen

Rufen is a German verb meaning to call out, to shout, or to summon someone by voice. It can also mean to name or designate something, or to evoke a quality, feeling, or response. In everyday usage, it often describes hailing a person or animal, as well as calling attention or summoning help. In some expressions, rufen appears in fixed phrases such as zur Ordnung rufen or den Hörer in die Hand nehmen, while the related verb anrufen is used specifically for phone calls.

Conjugation and forms: Rufen is a strong verb with a vowel change in the simple past. In the present tense: ich rufe, du rufst, er ruft, wir rufen, ihr ruft, sie rufen. The simple past is ich rief, du riefst, er rief, wir riefen, ihr rieft, sie riefen. The past participle is gerufen, and the auxiliary verb is haben: Ich habe gerufen. Imperative forms are rufe! ruft! rufen wir! ruft! In indirect speech the Konjunktiv I appears as ich rufe, er rufe; the Konjunktiv II is typically expressed with würde: ich würde rufen.

Etymology and usage notes: Rufen comes from Old High German ruffen and is cognate with Dutch roepen and other Germanic terms for calling or crying out. The noun der Ruf means a call, a reputation, or an appeal, and the compound Rufname denotes a given name. Rufen contrasts with nennen (to name) in that rufen emphasizes the act of calling aloud. The verb also forms many common compounds such as anrufen (to phone, to call by telephone), heranrufen (to summon someone), aufrufen (to call up), and ausrufen (to declare publicly).