versprechen

Versprechen is a German noun meaning a commitment or pledge that one will do something in the future. It denotes a statement or assurance given by someone to another person that they intend to fulfill a specified obligation. In everyday speech, people speak of giving or keeping a Versprechen, and of breaking a Versprechen.

The related verb versprechen means “to promise.” It is irregular: ich verspreche, du versprichst, er verspricht; Präteritum forms include ich versprach, du versprachst, er versprach; the past participle is versprochen. The prefix ver- with sprechen originally emphasizes the act of speaking in a binding way. The standard noun is das Versprechen; a less common variant is die Versprechung, which has a similar meaning but is used less frequently.

Common usages include: ein Versprechen geben (to give a promise), ein Versprechen halten (to keep a promise), ein Versprechen brechen (to break a promise), and jemanden an ein Versprechen erinnern (to remind someone of a promise). The expression leeres Versprechen refers to a promise that is not credible or unlikely to be fulfilled.

Sich versprechen is a separate reflexive verb meaning to misspeak or pronounce something incorrectly, or occasionally to slip into a mistake in speech. For example, "Ich habe mich versprochen" can mean “I misspoke” or, in a different sense, “I mispronounced it.”

In usage, Versprechen embodies ethical and social expectations about reliability and trust, and it appears in legal, political, and personal contexts. Related terms include Zusage (assurance) and Gelöbnis (vow).