verb
to begin, to start
A1
'beginnen' means 'to begin' or 'to start'. It's a strong (irregular) verb: Präteritum ich begann, past participle begonnen. It uses auxiliary haben (ich habe begonnen), is not separable nor reflexive. Passive forms exist (es wird begonnen). Imperative singular: Beginne! Common in both formal and neutral contexts.
Examples
Der Film beginnt um 20 Uhr.
The film starts at 8 PM.
Er begann zu lesen, als die Musik stoppte.
He started reading when the music stopped.
Wir haben das Projekt begonnen.
We started the project.
Details
Mnemonics
Imagine a big green 'start' button with the letters BEGINN on it
Think 'begin' in English — begin-nen is clearly 'begin'
Notes
Strong verb with past form 'begann' and participle 'begonnen'.