säubern
Translation
to clean, to cleanse, to purify
Examples
Du musst dein Zimmer säubern.
You have to clean your room.
Der Arzt säubert die Wunde.
The doctor cleans the wound.
Grammar Patterns
((sth.)) säubern to clean (sth.) You have to clean your room.
((sth.)) ((von+3)) säubern to clean (sth.) of (sth.) The floor was cleaned of dirt.
Similar Words
Synonyms: reinigen, putzen; Antonyms: verschmutzen (to dirty), verdrecken (to soil)
Etymology
Derived from the adjective 'sauber' (clean). The 'au' becomes 'äu' (umlaut) and the verb ending '-n' is added.
Memory Tips
If you know 'sauber' means 'clean', then 'säubern' is simply the action of making something clean.