Difference between ‚aufmachen‘ and ‚öffnen‘ in German

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Difference between ‚aufmachen‘ and ‚öffnen‘ in German

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Both the verbs ‚aufmachen‘ and ‚öffnen‘ means to open something. But before proceeding any further, let’s have a look at the photos below:

Image

and one more

Image

So what you see here, ‘öffnen’ is more formal whereas ‘aufmachen’ is more colloquial (in German ‘umgangssprachlich’)

Öffnungszeiten means ‘Opening Hours’. In the 2nd photo you see the ‘Kirche’ or the Church opening hour in January and February. None of them used ‘aufmachen’ in any form.

Some examples with ‚aufmachen‘ and ‚offnen‘

Kannst du bitte die Tür aufmachen? - Can you please open the door?

But if Police will be knocking at your door, then they will ask:

Bitte öffnen Sie die Tür - Please open the door (It’s more formal)

öffnen, öffnete, geöffnet (to open something, opened, opened)

aufmachen, machte auf, aufgemacht (to open something, opened, opened)

But use of these two verbs is also a matter of their establishement in everyday life regardless of any formal aspect. For example, if you are visiting an eye doctor, he might ask you

Bitte machen Sie die Augen auf – Please open your eyes now (commonly used)

He could also ask you, ‘Bitte öffnen Sie die Augen’ – Please open your eyes now.

On the other hand, a doctor can ask you

Öffnen Sie bitte den Mund (Please open your mouth). It is more used than ‘Machen Sie bitte den Mund auf’, although both of them have the same meaning to let you open your mouth and sing loud :-)

Have fun learning German :-)
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