All German word comparisons · Back to the topic overview
Meaning, sentence patterns and examples
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| kosten | cost | Prices; required effort or resources | Weak: kostet, kostete, hat gekostet; no separable prefix. The priced thing is the subject; the amount or resource follows. A person can appear as an additional accusative: Das kostet mich Zeit. |
| ausgeben | spend money | Purchases and budgets | Separable aus-; strong: gibt aus, gab aus, hat ausgegeben. Geld/einen Betrag ausgeben takes accusative; für + accusative names the purchase or purpose. |
| verbringen | spend a period of time | Days, evenings, holidays and life stages | Inseparable ver-. Strong: verbringt, verbrachte, hat verbracht. The time expression is accusative; mit + dative can name a companion or an activity expressed as a noun. |
kosten
Meaning and usage: Kosten describes what an item or activity demands. It can refer to money, time, effort or other resources. Das kostet Zeit says that something requires time; it does not describe how you choose to spend your afternoon. There is also a different verb kosten meaning taste, which is not the price meaning here.
Grammar: Weak: kostet, kostete, hat gekostet; no separable prefix. The priced thing is the subject; the amount or resource follows. A person can appear as an additional accusative: Das kostet mich Zeit.
Die Fahrkarte kostet acht Euro.
The ticket costs eight euros.
Die Suche kostet mich viel Zeit.
The search costs me a lot of time.
ausgeben
Meaning and usage: Ausgeben presents the spender as the subject and the money as what they spend. Für names what the expenditure is for. The verb has other meanings, such as distribute something or issue documents, so Geld or a monetary amount often makes the spending sense explicit.
Grammar: Separable aus-; strong: gibt aus, gab aus, hat ausgegeben. Geld/einen Betrag ausgeben takes accusative; für + accusative names the purchase or purpose.
Ich gebe zwanzig Euro für ein Wörterbuch aus.
I spend twenty euros on a dictionary.
Wir haben dieses Jahr weniger Geld ausgegeben.
We have spent less money this year.
verbringen
Meaning and usage: Verbringen names a stretch of time and often adds where, with whom or how it is spent. It suits a weekend, an evening or several hours. The more formal meaning transport something to a place exists, but it does not turn ordinary spending-money sentences into verbringen constructions.
Grammar: Inseparable ver-. Strong: verbringt, verbrachte, hat verbracht. The time expression is accusative; mit + dative can name a companion or an activity expressed as a noun.
Wir verbringen den Sonntag bei Freunden.
We spend Sunday at friends’ place.
Sie verbringt den Abend mit Lesen.
She spends the evening reading.
Overlap and context
Compare Die Fahrt kostet mich zwei Stunden with Ich verbringe zwei Stunden im Zug. The first stresses the time the journey requires; the second describes what I do with that time. They can describe the same journey from different viewpoints. It is the sentence meaning, not simply the presence of Stunden, that decides.
Common mistakes
- Do not translate I spend money as Ich verbringe Geld.
- Do not use Ich koste zehn Euro for paying ten euros; that would assign a price to you.
Memory aid: A thing costs; a person spends money with ausgeben and time with verbringen. Keep one money sentence and one time sentence together in your notes.
Try it
Complete: Ich ___ meinen Urlaub in Hamburg.
Show the answer
verbringe
The object meinen Urlaub is a period of time, and Hamburg names where you spend it.