verb
to tidy up, to clean up
A2
aufräumen (separable) means to tidy up or clean up. It’s a regular weak verb with separable prefix auf-; past participle aufgeräumt. Uses auxiliary haben in perfect tenses. Not reflexive. Imperative forms: räum auf!, räumt auf! Conjugates regularly—no stem change and no special preposition.
Examples
Sie räumte die Küche auf.
She tidied up the kitchen.
Kannst du bitte die Küche aufräumen?
Can you please clean up the kitchen?
Ich habe mein Büro aufgeräumt.
I have tidied up my office.
Details
Mnemonics
Picture boxes labeled 'keep' and 'donate' and you putting items into them while the room becomes neat.
Think 'off-room' — imagine taking things off the floor of a room to tidy it.
Notes
The verb is separable: in main clauses the prefix 'auf' moves to the end (e.g., 'Ich räume auf'). Perfect tense uses the auxiliary 'haben' + past participle 'aufgeräumt'. It is a common transitive verb used for cleaning/tidying tasks.