All German word comparisons · Back to the topic overview
Meaning, sentence patterns and examples
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| antworten | answer; reply | A person or question receiving a response | Regular, inseparable: antwortet, antwortete, hat geantwortet. |
| beantworten | answer something | Questions, letters and requests | Regular, inseparable: beantwortet, beantwortete, hat beantwortet. |
| erwidern | reply; reciprocate | Quoted replies or returned gestures | Regular, inseparable: erwidert, erwiderte, hat erwidert. |
| reagieren | react; respond | Behavior, feelings and physical responses | Regular, inseparable: reagiert, reagierte, hat reagiert. |
antworten
Meaning and usage: Antworten is an everyday choice for a spoken or written answer. The recipient is commonly dative, while the question or message can follow auf. You do not have to identify both: Sie antwortet is a complete statement. In some contexts the verb also describes a nonverbal response, so spoken words are typical rather than obligatory.
Grammar: Regular, inseparable: antwortet, antwortete, hat geantwortet. Jemandem antworten: dative; auf eine Frage antworten: auf + accusative.
Ich habe dem Vermieter gestern geantwortet.
I replied to the landlord yesterday.
beantworten
Meaning and usage: Beantworten places the thing answered at the center of the sentence. It suits questions, messages and letters. A person is not normally its direct object in this sense: you answer their question, not “answer them” using the same English structure. The be- prefix changes the object pattern as well as the shape of the verb.
Grammar: Regular, inseparable: beantwortet, beantwortete, hat beantwortet. Eine Frage/eine E-Mail beantworten: direct accusative object.
Die Trainerin beantwortet jede Frage am Ende.
The trainer answers every question at the end.
erwidern
Meaning and usage: Erwidern can introduce a reply in a conversation, including a counterargument. It is also used when someone returns a smile, greeting, visit or affection. This second meaning makes it broader than a simple answer verb. It can sound more written or deliberate than antworten in dialogue narration, without always implying disagreement.
Grammar: Regular, inseparable: erwidert, erwiderte, hat erwidert. A reply may be quoted or expressed with a clause; einen Gruß/einen Blick erwidern takes accusative.
Mara erwiderte das Lächeln des Kindes.
Mara returned the child’s smile.
reagieren
Meaning and usage: Reagieren describes the response to a stimulus, statement or event. That response may be an answer, a change in behavior or a bodily reaction. Use it when the form of the response matters more than answering a particular question. It is common with promptly, calmly or angrily, because those describe how someone reacts.
Grammar: Regular, inseparable: reagiert, reagierte, hat reagiert. Auf etwas reagieren: auf + accusative; mit etwas reagieren: mit + dative.
Das Team reagierte ruhig auf die Kritik.
The team reacted calmly to the criticism.
Overlap and context
Answering an email is also a way of reacting to it. However, reagieren does not promise that its questions were answered. Erwidern and antworten overlap for verbal replies; reciprocating a smile is a distinct, particularly useful erwidern context.
Common mistakes
- Say Ich antworte dem Kunden, but Ich beantworte die Frage des Kunden. The direct object changes.
- Use auf die Nachricht reagieren, rather than directly treating die Nachricht as an accusative object after reagieren.
- Erwidern does not necessarily mean contradict. Returning a greeting is an ordinary nonargumentative use.
Memory aid: Antworten follows the person; beantworten handles the question; reagieren describes the response; erwidern can give something back.
Try it
Complete: Sie beantwortet ___: dem Schüler or die Frage?
Show the answer
die Frage
Beantworten takes the item answered as an accusative object. Dem Schüler belongs naturally with antworten.