säubere

Säubere is the second-person singular imperative form of the German verb säubern, meaning to clean or purify something. The infinitive is säubern; the related adjective is sauber, and the noun form is Sauberkeit. Säubere is used to give a direct instruction, for example: Säubere das Fenster.

Conjugation overview (present tense and common forms): ich säubere, du säuberst, er säubert; wir säubern, ihr säubert, sie säubern. The imperative forms are Säubere! (du) and Säubert! (ihr). The past tense can be formed with Präteritum as ich säuberte, du säubertest, er säuberte; wir säuberten; ihr säubertet; sie säuberten. The perfect tense is formed with haben: ich habe gesäubert, du hast gesäubert, er hat gesäubert; wir haben gesäubert, etc. The future is typically expressed with werden: ich werde säubern.

Usage and nuance: Säubern is used for cleaning physical objects and spaces, as well as for purification processes. In everyday language, it often substitutes for Reinigung or putzen, depending on context. In specialized domains, such as data processing, säubern can mean to clean or sanitize data (often called data cleaning or Daten bereinigen). The noun Säuberung generally refers to cleansing or purification but can carry strong connotations in historical or political contexts, where it can mean purge.

Etymology and related terms: Säubern derives from sauber meaning clean, with the -ern suffix forming a verb. Related words include sauber, Sauberkeit (cleanliness), Reinigung (cleaning), and Säuberung (purification or purge). The term is widely used in both domestic and technical German.