Learn angucken vs anschauen in German. Build fluency with personalized exercises, chats, and video recommendations.
These two verbs are often interchangeable, meaning "to look at" or "to watch," and many German speakers use them synonymously. However, there are subtle differences in their usage:
angucken is more informal and can suggest a quick glance. You might angucken something that catches your eye.
Schau mal diesen Vogel an! (Look at that bird!)Ich hab mir den Film angeschaut. (I watched the film.)anschauen is more neutral and common in both spoken and written German. It can be used for more sustained observation.
Die Kinder schauen fern. (The kids are watching TV.)Wir werden uns das Kunstwerk genauer anschauen. (We will look at the artwork more closely.)Note: In some regions, you might also hear the verb gucken for "to look/watch" or anschauen as in "to show someone," (e.g., Ich zeige dir ein Haus, das du anschauen kannst. - I'll show you a house that you can view/look at). However, angucken and anschauen are by far the most common synonyms.
Related Topics: Verbs of looking, Verb prefixes, Spoken German, Active verbs