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Ich habe eine Frage:(

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Nov 10th 2011 16:00
What is the difference between "holen" and "abholen".


*holen
Ich gehe zur Bank und hole Geld.
Wir holen die Kinder in die Stube.

*abholen
Ich lasse ihn ein Paket von der Post abholen.
Ich hole ihn zum Essen ab.

Both holen and abholen mean "fetch"
I think so...

Please let me teach...
Traubenstein
Nov 10th 2011 19:20
I think it's like this:
You use "abholen" if you pre-ordered something or when you have date and someone waits for you to pick him up.
"holen" does not have that special meaning. That is you don't have ordered something and you don't have a date.

z.B.:
Ich habe gestern ein Buch bestellt. Ich werde es heute Abend abholen.
(You pre-ordered the book and you'll pick it up.)
Ich hole mir jetzt ein Buch.
(You haven't pre-ordered any book you have just decided to buy one.)

"Wir holen die Kinder in die Stube."
--> You haven't planned it, you just have decided to do so.

"Ich hole ihn zum Essen ab."
--> You have a date with him and you'll pick him up.

I don't know if you can generalize it like this. I hope some other correctors will write something about this theme too.
Nov 10th 2011 19:38 νομάς
Yes, we can generalize it this way.
"Holen" is more general than "abholen". In set theory, you'd say "Holen" > "abholen".

"Abholen" is a special way of "holen" because the item to be fetched has kind of a virtual tag which reads "this item is destined to be fetched".

As a side note, there is this nice German phrase "Sie steht da wie nicht abgeholt" about an unlucky person waiting for someone who doesn't come.
Nov 10th 2011 20:28 Traubenstein
Ah yes, in our region we say:
"Sie steht da wie bestellt und nicht abgeholt."
Nov 10th 2011 21:42 Shoma
@Traubenstein and Nomas
Thank you for your detailed explanation :D

I understood the difference:D
and someday I could use the phrase "Sie steht da wie nicht abgeholt" :)
Nov 11th 2011 07:40
@Shoma: In Germany we actually have the expression: "Sie/Er steht da wie bestellt und nicht abgeholt." :)
May 11th 2013 17:42
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What is the difference between "holen" and "abholen". *holen Ich gehe zur Bank und hole Geld. Wir holen die Kinder in die Stube. *abholen Ich lasse ihn ein Paket von der Post abholen. Ich hole ihn zum Essen ab. Both holen and abholen mean "fetch" I think so... Please let me teach..


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