verziehen
Translation
to spoil, to distort, to move away, to forgive
Examples
Die Großeltern verziehen das Kind.
The grandparents spoil the child.
Er verzog das Gesicht vor Schmerz.
He distorted his face in pain.
Sie sind nach Berlin verzogen.
They have moved to Berlin.
Grammar Patterns
((sb.)) to spoil sb. He has totally spoiled his children.
das Gesicht verziehen to distort one's face She distorted her face in disgust.
((sein)) ((to...)) to move (away) My neighbours have moved away to an unknown location.
Similar Words
Etymology
From 'ver-' (away, wrongly) + 'ziehen' (to pull). 'Pulling wrongly' leads to spoiling a child. 'Pulling one's face' means to distort it. 'Pulling away' means to move.
Memory Tips
Think of 'ver-' as 'for-' in 'forgive' or 'forgo', indicating something going away or being done to excess. 'Verziehen' is like 'over-pulling' someone's character (spoiling) or face (distorting).