verb
to acknowledge, to recognize, to admit (officially)
B1
'anerkennen' means 'to acknowledge', 'to recognize', or 'to admit (officially)'. It is a separable, mixed verb: present splits (ich erkenne an), past stem 'erkannte', participle 'anerkannt'. Uses auxiliary haben. Non‑reflexive. Often denotes official or formal recognition in institutional contexts.
Examples
Er hat ihren Mut anerkannt.
He acknowledged her courage.
Ich erkenne deine Leistung an.
I acknowledge your achievement.
Die Universität erkannte die ausländischen Abschlüsse an, obwohl einige Dokumente fehlten.
The university recognized the foreign degrees, although some documents were missing.
Details
Mnemonics
imagine someone nodding and saying 'I acknowledge that' while pointing 'an' (to) the person
think 'acknowledge' → 'an-erk-ennen' (an = on, erkennen = recognize)
Notes
A separable verb (present: 'er erkennt ... an') typically uses 'haben' as auxiliary in perfect tenses. It can mean 'to acknowledge', 'to recognize (officially)', or 'to accept' in an institutional/legal sense.