erhitzen
[ʔɛɐ̯ˈhɪtsn̩]
To heat up in German can be expressed as erhitzen or aufheizen.
Meaning: cause to become hotter (verb)
Ways to say it
| German | IPA |
|---|---|
| erhitzen | [ʔɛɐ̯ˈhɪtsn̩] (narrow) [ʔɛɐ̯ˈhɪtsən] (narrow) |
| aufheizen |
Both words mean to cause something to become hotter. The phrase Zum Kochen bringen can be used specifically to mean 'to bring to a boil.'
Which one should you use?
The choice between the two words depends on what you are heating. Use erhitzen when heating a substance or liquid, such as food or water. Use aufheizen when you are heating up a space or a room.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word erhitzt is the past participle of erhitzen, which can be used to form the perfect tense or serve as an adjective. For the separable verb aufheizen, the third-person singular present form is heizt auf.
Did you know?
- German distinguishes between heating something from scratch and reheating leftovers. Use aufwärmen for food that was already cooked and is being brought back to temperature.
- While aufheizen refers to heating a room, you might also use aufheizen metaphorically to describe a heated political debate or an intensifying argument.
- The root of erhitzen traces back to the Old High German word irhizzen, which is a distant relative of the English word 'heat'.
Examples in context
- Etwas Wasser erhitzen.Heat up some water.This sentence shows how to use erhitzen with water.Tatoeba #10645209 by Yorwba, translation #9179787 by DJ_Saidez
- Bitte erhitzen Sie das Essen vor dem Servieren.Please heat up the food before serving.
- Der Kaffee muss noch einmal aufgewärmt werden.The coffee needs to be warmed up again.
- Warm den Kaffee nochmal auf!Heat up the coffee again!
- Man muss das Metall erhitzen.One must heat up the metal.
Example conversation
Julian and Julia are in a workshop working on a small project.
- JulianSoll ich das Metall erhitzen?Should I heat up the metal?
- JuliaJa, bitte, Julian.Yes, please, Julian.
- JulianIst es heiß genug?Is it hot enough?
- JuliaJa, das ist perfekt.Yes, that is perfect.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “heat up” translations and entries erhitzen, aufheizen, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries erhitzen, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
