Ways to say it
| German | IPA |
|---|---|
| verzögern | [fɛɐ̯ˈt͜søːɡɐn] (narrow) |
| prokrastinieren | /pʁokʁastiˈniːʁən/ |
The choice of word depends on whether you are describing a psychological habit or a physical delay. prokrastinieren refers specifically to the psychological act of delaying tasks. In contrast, verzögern is used for the physical or temporal delay of a process or event.
Which one should you use?
prokrastinieren is used for the psychological phenomenon of delaying tasks, whereas verzögern is used to mean to delay or slow down a process or event.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
prokrastinieren is a formal, academic term. verzögern is often used in more formal or technical contexts to describe delays. For a formal way to say 'to defer' or 'to postpone', you may also use Aufschieben.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb prokrastinieren can be turned into the gerund noun das Prokrastinieren to mean 'the act of procrastination'.
Did you know?
- German has a specific noun Aufschieberitis, a playful, pseudo-medical term used to describe the 'disease' of chronic procrastination.
- While prokrastinieren is an official word, many Germans colloquially use the phrase vor sich her schieben to describe the act of procrastination.
- The word prokrastinieren is a direct linguistic relative of the English word, both stemming from the Latin 'pro' meaning 'forward' and 'crastinus' meaning 'of tomorrow'.
Examples in context
- Ich neige zum Prokrastinieren, wenn ich vor dem Rechner sitze.Me being in front of my computer makes it very easy for me to procrastinate.This sentence shows how to use the form prokrastinieren to describe a personal tendency.Tatoeba #10022677 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #10022673 by DJ_Saidez
- Ich neige dazu, wichtige Aufgaben aufzuschiebenI tend to procrastinate important tasks
- Ich habe die Gewohnheit, Dinge zu verzögernI have the habit of procrastinating things
- Es fällt mir schwer, Aufgaben nicht hinauszuzögernI find it difficult not to procrastinate tasks
- Ich schiebe die Hausarbeit wieder aufI'm putting off the homework again
- Ich habe den ganzen Tag getrödeltI dawdled all day
- Ich hab gestern total getrödelt und die Hausarbeit nicht gemacht.I dawdled yesterday and didn't do the homework.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “procrastinate” translations and entries verzögern, prokrastinieren, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries prokrastinieren, verzögern, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
