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befassen

deal with

verb be-FAH-sen Less Common
Mind & Emotions Mental States

Origin: from be- plus fassen ('to grasp')

Usage Note

befassen is almost always reflexive: sich mit etwas befassen ('to occupy oneself with something, look into it'). It is inseparable and belongs to a slightly formal register, common in work and study contexts. Do not use it without sich and mit.

Examples

"Wir befassen uns mit dem Problem."

Natural Translation

We are dealing with the problem.

Literal Translation

We occupy ourselves with the problem.

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