Learn bewirkten vs verusachen in German. Build fluency with personalized exercises, chats, and video recommendations.
The German verbs bewirken and verursachen both mean "to cause" or "to bring about," but bewirken is more neutral and commonly refers to a result or effect (often positive), while verursachen implies a negative or unwanted consequence, like damage or trouble.
bewirken often means to bring about a desired effect:
Die Maßnahmen bewirkten eine Verbesserung der Situation. (The measures brought about an improvement in the situation.)verursachen implies something bad is being caused:
Das Feuer verursachte großen Schaden. (The fire caused great damage.)Related Topics: Active Voice, Passive Voice, Causative Verbs