verb
to finish, to lock, to conclude
A2
abschließen (trennbar) means 'to finish/complete', 'to lock', or 'to conclude'. It's a separable, strong (irregular) verb: present stem e→ie (ich schließe ab), Präteritum 'schloss', Partizip II 'abgeschlossen'. Uses auxiliary haben in perfect tenses. Not reflexive. Word order splits prefix in main clauses.
Examples
Wir haben das Haus abgeschlossen.
We locked the house.
Wir konnten das Abkommen gestern abschließen.
We were able to conclude the agreement yesterday.
Ich muss das Projekt bis Freitag abschließen.
I need to finish the project by Friday.
Details
Mnemonics
Imagine closing (slamming) a folder and a lock clicking shut — the folder is 'ab' and the lock is 'schließen'.
Sounds like 'finish' (close) — 'abschließen' ends like 'close'.
Notes
Separable verb: the prefix 'ab' separates in main clauses (ich schließe die Tür ab). Common meanings: to finish/complete, to lock, and to conclude (a deal). Konjunktiv I Präteritum (distinct simple past subjunctive forms) are not commonly used in contemporary German and have been marked as not applicable in this dataset where originally empty.