# pflegen
## German
### Etymology

From Middle High German phlëgen, from Old High German plëgan, from Proto-West Germanic *plehan.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpfleːɡən/, [ˈpfleːɡən], [ˈpfleːɡŋ̩] (standard)
* IPA: /ˈfleːɡən/ (most speakers in northern and central Germany)
* Audio:(file)

### Verb

pflegen (weak, third-person singular present pflegt, past tense pflegte, past participle gepflegt, auxiliary haben) or pflegen (class 4 strong, third-person singular present pflegt, past tense pflog, past participle gepflogen, past subjunctive pflöge, auxiliary haben)
* providing care or service for someone/something [weak verb]
** (transitive, medicine) to nurse; to care for someone in poor health
    jemanden gesund pflegen ― to nurse someone back to health
    Kranke pflegen ― to care for the sick
** (transitive) to take care of, to tend to, to maintain
    sein Äußeres pflegen ― to take care of one's appearance
    die Zähne pflegen ― to take care of (one's) teeth
    Der Gärtner pflegt den Garten. ― The gardener tends to the garden.
    Sie hat sich stets sehr gepflegt. ― She has always taken care of her appearance. (literally, “She has always taken care of herself.”)
    Er setzte sich faul hin und pflegte sich. ― He sat down lazily and went easy on himself. (literally, “He sat down lazily and looked after himself.”)
    Daten pflegen ― to maintain data (keep up-to-date)
*** (intransitive, archaic) [with genitive ‘something/someone’]
**** 1781, Friedrich Schiller, Die Räuber: Ein Schauspiel, Frankfurt und Leipzig, page 43:Daheim labt er sich mit süssem köstlichem Wein, und pflegt seiner morschen Glieder in Kissen von Eider, während sein grosser herrlicher Sohn darbt.At home, he refreshes himself with sweet, delectable wine and cares for his decaying limbs with cushions of down feathers, all while his wonderful and charming son starves.
* to improve or care for something in an intellectual sense [weak or strong verb]
** (transitive) to cultivate; to foster; to nurture; to maintain
    Freundschaften pflegen ― to cultivate friendships
    Beziehungen pflegen ― to cultivate relationships
    Künste und Wissenschaften pflegen ― to advance/promote the arts and sciences
*** (intransitive, higher register or poetic) [with genitive ‘something’]
    der Liebe pflegen ― to cultivate/nurture love
    der Ruhe pflegen ― to foster tranquility
* expressing habituality [weak or strong verb]
** (transitive) to carry out regularly
    Umgang pflegen ― to regularly be in contact
    Geselligkeit pflegen ― to socialize regularly (literally, “to regularly engage in gregariousness”)
** (intransitive) to perform habitually; to be accustomed (to); to be in the habit (of) [with zu (+ infinitive) ‘doing something’]
    Ich pflege zu laufen. ― I usually walk.
    Er pflegte zu reisen. ― He used to travel.

#### Usage notes

* In the sense of providing care or service, pflegen is conjugated as a weak verb.
* For the other senses, both weak and strong conjugations are found. The weak conjugation is prevalent; the strong conjugation is generally dated or used in a higher register.

#### Conjugation

$^1$Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
or
$^1$Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.

#### Derived terms

* Pflegen, Pfleger, Pflegung
* einpflegen, erpflegen, verpflegen
* pfleglich, Gepflogenheit (based on the past participle gepflogen)

### Further reading

* “pflegen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
* “pflegen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
* “pflegen” in Duden online
* “pflegen” in OpenThesaurus.de
* “pflegen” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
* Friedrich Kluge (1883) “pflegen”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891