sich anziehen
/zɪç ˈantsiːən/word by word
The English phrase 'get dressed' is translated into German as sich anziehen.
sich anziehen is used to describe the act of putting clothes on oneself.
Meaning: to beclothe oneself, to put on clothes (verb)
Which one should you use?
While sich anziehen focuses on the act of putting clothes on, sich umziehen is used specifically for changing clothes.
How does it change in a sentence?
The reflexive pronoun sich is required when the subject is dressing themselves. However, if you remove sich, the verb anziehen means to dress someone else. In the perfect tense, sich anziehen uses the auxiliary verb haben (e.g., hat sich angezogen) rather than sein.
How do you pronounce it?
/zɪç ˈantsiːən/
Did you know?
- German has a specific word, umziehen, for changing clothes, but the same word is also used to describe the act of moving to a new house or apartment.
- While sich anziehen means to get dressed, the word anziehen on its own can also mean 'to attract' or 'to draw in', as in a magnet attracting metal.
- The verb anziehen is a literal compound of the prefix an meaning 'on' and the verb ziehen meaning 'to pull'. You are quite literally 'pulling something on' when you dress.
Examples in context
- Maria hieß die Kinder, dass sie sich anziehen sollten.Mary told the children to get dressed.This sentence is useful for illustrating a command or instruction regarding the use of sich anziehen.Tatoeba #7306759 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #7306606 by Hybrid
- Bitte ziehen Sie sich schnell an.Please get dressed quickly.
- Es ist Zeit, sich für die Arbeit anzuziehen.It's time to get dressed for work.
- Sich richtig anzuziehen, ist wichtig für formelle Anlässe.Getting dressed properly is important for formal occasions.
- Sie müssen sich angemessen kleiden, um in das Restaurant zu gehen.You need to dress appropriately to go to the restaurant.
- In unserer Firma müssen wir uns konservativ kleiden.In our company, we have to dress conservatively.
- Komm, zieh dich an und lass uns rausgehen!Come on, get dressed and let's go out!
- Du siehst gut aus. Hast du dich extra schick angezogen?You look good. Did you dress up specially?
- Beeil dich bitte, damit wir uns fertigmachen und rechtzeitig losgehen können.Please hurry up so we can get dressed and leave on time.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “get dressed” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (sich, anziehen) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries anziehen, sich, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
