Schicken vs. Verschicken

Can you clarify the difference between the verbs "schicken" and "verschicken." I understand they both mean "to send." In lesson 5.2 Nik explains you would use "verschicken" when sending a person or a thing and "schicken" when sending a person, but in Lesson 5.1 "schicken" is used in the dialogue when expressing the desire to send a bottle of wine. What am I missing here? Thanks, Duane

Hi there, "schicken" is used when you "send" a person or a thing "verschicken" is only used for things and means "to send " or "to dispatch". Here are some examples: Ich schicke dich zum Arzt. - I'll send you to the doctor. Ich schicke sie zu deinem Haus - I will send her to your house. Ich schicke dir eine Flasche Wein - I'll send you a bottle of wine. Ich möchte eine Flasche Wein verschicken - I want to send a bottle of wine. The difference between "schicken" and "verschicken" is the prefix "ver". Think of the "ver" as the extra wrapping that you need when "sending" a thing. I hope that helps

That does help. After reviewing the lesson, I find I had them reversed... Thanks! Duane

Cool that I could search and find the answer because I had the same question. However, i'm not sure I get it yet. Suppose in Nathalie's last example I wanted to say I want to send a bottle of wine home. Would I then use schicken instead of verschicken, "I möchte eine Flasche Wein nach Hause schicken" ? Is the distinction based on sending it to someone or some place? I ask that because the examples in lesson 5 use schicken for sending post cards which are things. Or could verschicken also be correctly used in these cases as long as they don't reference a person? Thanks

Hello Byron, It is true that "verschicken" is used for sending things. To be more specific "verschicken" is used in the meaning of posting, letters, postcards and packages and sending it using the service of a postoffice. The verb "schicken" is not specific about it. When you say "Ich möchte eine Flasche Wein nach Hause schicken?" like in English "I would like to send a bottle of wine home" it is not clear if you send the bottle as a package through a post office or with someone to deliver it for you. Hope I could help! Alles Gute Paul

Ja, danke.

sorry abaut clarify difference between the verbs "schicken" and "verschicken iam not sure for that ,, but i know many words like them for example, heiratet....... verheiratet missen ,,,,,,, vermissen miete ......... vermiete and so.....on PLS let me know how to make deffrent between them thanks alot issa

Hi Issa, Of course, the final authorities are our native speakers, but I'll share what I've found. From what I can tell, the difference when 'ver" is a prefix is sometimes very subtle and other times not so subtle. If there is a general rule, and i'm not sure there is, it might be that "ver" makes it a transitive verb, i.e. one that has an object. For example, mieten and vermieten can both mean to rent, but vermieten also means "rent out" so if you had a sentence where a room was being rented out to someone, "vermieten" would probably be the correct verb to use. Basically, I do a Google translate and if the distinction still isn't clear, do a search and you will likely find a grammar article on it somewhere. If that doesn't work for you, then you will have to ask our native speaker, Paul. regards, Byron

Hi Issa, I did some more research after my last post. There are some clues as to what "ver" might mean, but there don't seem to be any consistent rules you can apply. For example, "ver" can imply something gone bad or awry. Verlaufen (to get lost) is an example. It can also imply direction out of or away from. However, it doesn't seem consistent. In some cases, the prefix changes the meaning a lot (for example the difference between vergeben (forgive) and geben (to give). In other cases the difference can be quite subtle. I guess maybe there is no easy answer. I'd like to hear what Paul has to say. regards, Byron

Hi Issa, I am afraid there is no basic rule for verbs starting with the prefix ”ver”. "Verheiratet" is mostly used as an adjective =Ich bin verheiratet= I am married. “Heiratet” would be wrong. It is “geheiratet”. “I have married”=”ich habe geheiratet”. "Vermissen" is much more common verb than its origin "missed" and they have a similar meaning but they not always used in the same way. for example it's "Ich vermisse dich!" - "I miss you!" never "Ich misse dich" "Ich will nichts missen"- "I don't want to miss out on anything!" Or "ich will nichts vermissen" -'I don't want to miss anything!" Verbs with the prefix “ver” have a mostly completely different meaning than from the original verb. Examples: "versagen" -“to fail” and "sagen"-“to talk” “Verstehen”-“to understand” and “stehen”-“to stand”. “Versuchen”-“to try” and “suchen”-“to search” Other verbs simply don't exist without "ver" as "verlieren". Gruß Paul

Hello Byron, For you as English naive speaker it might be helpful to think of verbs in English with a prefix and compare them to their original root. Like the verbs “to understand” and “to stand”. “verstehen” (to understand) and “stehen” (to stand). You gave another good example "vergeben" (forgive) and "geben" (to give). Although these similarities between German and English verbs are rare. You are right there is no rule and the bad news is the prefix "ver" gives no clue on which prefix might be the equivalent to English. If it's any consolation here are some examples with other verbs that are similar to the English ones. "to take"(nehmen)-> "to overtake" (übernehmen), "to hand" (reichen)-> "to hand in" (einreichen), "to hand out" (aushändigen). Lieben Gruß Paul

Hi Paul, Yes, the prefixes are confusing for German learners and the separable ones even more so. like stellen and vorstellen. I don't see any logic to that combination, but I'm making progress. I like your learning tips and techniques. They are helpful and keep me from getting discouraged. Danke sehr, Byron