Verb

vergeben

Translation

to forgive, to award, to give away, to miss (an opportunity)

Ich vergebe dir deinen Fehler.

I forgive you for your mistake.

Die Jury vergibt den ersten Preis.

The jury awards the first prize.

Er hat die letzte Chance vergeben.

He missed the last chance.

((sb.dat)) ((sth.acc)) to forgive sb. sth. I forgive you your mistake.

((sth.acc)) ((to sb.)) to award sth. to sb. The jury awards the prize to the winner.

Synonyms: verzeihen (to forgive), erteilen (to grant/award); Antonyms: bestrafen (to punish), nehmen (to take)

From the prefix `ver-` (away, completely) + `geben` (to give). The idea is 'to give away' a grudge (forgive) or a prize (award).

Think of 'for-give' in English. The German `ver-` often parallels the English 'for-' in verbs like 'forgive' or 'forbid' (verbieten).