umschreiben

to rewrite; to paraphrase

verb OOM-shry-ben Rare

Also means

to reword

Usage Note

umschreiben has two readings: with stress on um- it means 'to rewrite or revise a text'; with stress on -schreiben it means 'to paraphrase or describe indirectly'. Context and accent distinguish them in speech.

Examples

"Er musste den Schlussteil seiner Hausarbeit komplett umschreiben."

Natural Translation

He had to completely rewrite the concluding section of his essay.

Literal Translation

He had to the closing-part of his essay completely rewrite.

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