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to hide or conceal something or someone from view or knowledge
Er verbarg die Waffe unter seinem Mantel.
He hid the weapon under his coat.
Sie verbarg ihre Tränen vor den anderen.
She concealed her tears from the others.
Commonly used with reflexive pronouns (sich verbergen) to mean 'to hide oneself'.
to keep secret or suppress information
Er verbergte die Wahrheit vor seiner Familie.
He kept the truth from his family.
Often used in contexts involving deception or privacy.
Remember that 'verbergen' is separable. In past tense or subordinate clauses, the prefix 'ver-' splits off: 'Er hat es verborgen.' (He hid it.)
Use 'verbergen' for physical hiding or concealing information. For emotional concealment (e.g., feelings), 'verbergen' is more common than 'verstecken'.
From Middle High German 'verbergen', from Old High German 'firbergen', from Proto-Germanic '*fer-berganą' (to hide), from '*fer-' (away) + '*berganą' (to protect). Cognate with English 'bury'.
Verbergen is a separable verb (trennbar), so in main clauses the prefix 'ver-' moves to the end of the sentence: 'Er verbarg das Buch.' (He hid the book.)