Fünf Verben mit „klären“ einfach erklärt

What does “verklären” mean in German?

“verklären” looks related to “klären” (to clear something up) or “erklären” (to explain), but it means something different: to remember something as better or nicer than it really was. People who keep saying the past was always better are “verklärend” — they are not lying, they are just letting memory add a warm glow that was not really there.

From the clip: “Viele Menschen verklären zum Beispiel die Vergangenheit, indem sie immer wieder sagen, dass in der Vergangenheit alles besser war, obwohl das vielleicht gar nicht die Realität ist.” — “Many people paint the past in a better light, for example, by repeatedly saying that everything used to be better, even though that may not be reality at all.” The clip covers a whole “klären” family, so it is easy to mix them up. “klären” = clear something up (settle a misunderstanding). “erklären” = explain how something works. “verklären” works differently: in this word it means to make something — usually the past — seem better than it really was. (Don’t read the “ver-” as a general rule; just learn this verb’s meaning.) More examples: “Er verklärt seine Schulzeit” — he looks back on his school days as if they were the best years of his life. “Mit der Zeit verklärt man schwere Momente” — over time, hard moments get remembered as better than they were. Usage note: it is a bit formal, but you will hear it in talk about memory, nostalgia, and how people think about the past.