German

Noun

Erbarmen n ‎(genitive Erbarmens, no plural)

1. gerund of erbarmen; commiseration, compassion

Declension

Derived terms

• erbärmlich

Dutch

Verb

erbarmen

1. (intransitive) to have mercy, to take pity

Inflection

Derived terms

• erbarmelijk
• erbarming

Etymology 2

Gerund of the verb erbarmen.

Noun

erbarmen n ‎(uncountable)

1. mercy, pity

Synonyms

• erbarming

German

Verb

erbarmen ‎(third-person singular simple present erbarmt, past tense erbarmte, past participle erbarmt, auxiliary haben)

1. (reflexive) to take pity on, to have mercy for

   Herr, erbarme dich unser.

   Lord, have mercy on us.

   Wer wird sich meiner armen Bücher erbarmen?.

   Who will take pity on my poor books?

Usage notes

• In formal standard German, the verb is used with a genitive object (as above).
  In the colloquial language, but occasionally in writing, the preposition über + accusative may be used instead: Er hat sich über den alten Mann erbarmt. This is however not generally accepted.
• This verb can be avoided by using the widely synonymous construction Erbarmen haben mit (→ Hab Erbarmen mit uns.).

Conjugation