umtauscht

Umtauscht is the third-person singular present indicative form of the German verb umtauschen, meaning to exchange or swap one thing for another. The verb is separable-prefix, so in the present tense it is written as er tauscht um. The form is commonly expressed as a two-word construction in standard grammar (tauscht um), while the past participle is umgetauscht.

Conjugation and forms

The infinitive is umtauschen. Präteritum forms include ich tauschte um, du tauschtest um, er tauschte um, wir tauschten um, ihr tauschtet um, sie tauschten um. The past participle is umgetauscht, used with auxiliary habe to form the perfect: er hat umgetauscht. Passive or other tenses are formed similarly to other separable-prefix verbs.

Usage and meaning

Umtauschen covers exchanging an item for another, or exchanging money or currencies, when the goal is to replace something with a different item or value. In retail, customers may umtauschen defective or ill-fitting goods, often within a specified period; in finance, banks may umtauschen currencies. The process can involve refunds, credits, or substitutions, depending on policy and context. Common collocations include etwas umtauschen (to exchange something), Geld umtauschen (to exchange money), and Ware umtauschen (to exchange merchandise).

Related terms

The noun Umtausch refers to the act or process of exchanging, as in a merchandise exchange or a terms-of-service clause. Related German verbs include auswechseln (to replace) and umändern (to modify). Prefix um- in umtauschen signals reversal or replacement, aligning with other language patterns of separable German verbs.

Note

In standard German, the present tense form is typically written as tauscht um (two words). The single-word form umtauscht is not the conventional orthography for the present tense, though readers may encounter it in informal or compact notations.