knurren
/ˈknʊʁən/
To growl in German is knurren.
The verb knurren describes uttering a deep guttural sound. This can be used to describe animals making a threatening sound or a person's stomach making a rumbling sound.
Meaning: to utter a deep guttural sound (verb)
Which one should you use?
The verb knurren is the action of growling, whereas the noun das Knurren refers to the sound itself. For a specific type of sound, such as the rumbling of a hungry stomach, the noun Magenknurren is used.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The simple past form of knurren is knurrte, and the past participle is geknurrt. When the verb is used as a noun, it is written as das Knurren.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈknʊʁən/
Did you know?
- While knurren describes a low guttural sound, German speakers use it metaphorically to describe someone grumbling in a moody or dissatisfied way.
- The Dutch word knorren is a close linguistic sibling to knurren, reflecting an ancient shared Germanic way of describing deep sounds.
- German distinguishes between the act of growling and the sound itself by capitalizing the word as das Knurren to turn the verb into a noun.
Examples in context
- Mein Magen begann zu knurren.My stomach began to growl.This sentence shows how to use knurren to describe a stomach.Tatoeba #12816235 by Yorwba, translation #7126583 by CM
- Toms Magen fing an zu knurren.Tom's stomach began to growl.Tatoeba #6460938 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #6053114 by Hybrid
- Der Hund knurrte bedrohlichThe dog growled menacingly
- Der Chef brummte unzufrieden vor sich hinThe boss growled discontentedly to himself
- Der Hund begann leise zu knurren.The dog began to growl quietly.
Example conversation
Julian and Sarah are walking past a strange dog.
- JulianHör mal, der Hund fängt an zu knurren.Listen, the dog is starting to growl.
- SarahVielleicht hat er Angst vor uns.Maybe he is afraid of us.
- JulianIch glaube, wir sollten langsam weitergehen.I think we should keep walking slowly.
- SarahJa, das ist eine gute Idee, Julian.Yes, that is a good idea, Julian.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “growl” translations and entries knurren, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries knurren, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
