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- "I would like to pay with a c…
"I would like to pay with a credit card."
Translation:Ich würde gerne mit Kreditkarte zahlen.
21 Comments
The short answer is that they're used interchangeably in nearly all senses nowadays.
The long answer is... I think "zahlen" was traditionally used transitively or intransitively, while "bezahlen" – like all be- verbs – required either an object or a prepositional phrase (unless used in the passive voice). However, this rule no longer applies. For example, Duden online lists the example, "Herr Ober, ich möchte bezahlen!", which uses bezahlen intransitively. Nonetheless, some uses are still considered colloquial, or umgangssprachlich, like when you use "zahlen" with a specific product, service, or person as its direct object [Source: "zahlen" bei Duden, Bedeutungen 2a, b]. Therefore:
- Ich zahle. ✔
- Ich bezahle. ✔
- Ich zahle 50 Euro. ✔
- Ich bezahle 50 Euro. ✔
- Ich zahle die Getränke. ✔ [umgangssprachlich]
- Ich bezahle die Getränke. ✔
- Ich zahle für die Getränke. ✔
- Ich bezahle für die Getränke. ✔
- Ich zahle mit Karte. ✔
- Ich bezahle mit Karte. ✔
- Dafür wirst du zahlen! ✔ [figurativ]
- Dafür wirst du bezahlen! ✔ [figurativ]
As far as I know, however, "bezahlen" is somewhat of an exception among be- verbs. Usually, you use them with direct objects, like "eine Frage beantworten". If you used "antworten", you'd use a prepositional object instead of a direct object, e.g. "auf eine Frage antworten", "mit Ja antworten".
43
Wouldn't that be a double "like". It might translate to "I would like to like to secure my basement.", but I'm not sure.