English Translation
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“Aufheben.” When I check all the different meanings and uses of this verb I wonder if trying to learn German is a realistic ambition.
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It’s not as hard as it first seems. 
From the top of my head, I can think of only three meanings:
- “to pick something up from the floor”, for example a box or a dollar bill
- “to keep (and not throw away) something”, as in this example
- “to nullify something”, for example a contract or betrothal
All other meanings listed in the dictionary are merely synonyms for one of these three meanings, if I didn’t miss anything.
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Thank you David your comment is helpful.
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Every language has it’s quirks that native speakers are unaware of.
I’m helping Ukrainians learn English, and you would not believe how many different meanings some English words have. ‘Row’ was this week’s odd word.
Row a boat
a line of things (usually one of a set of parallel lines)
an argument (with different pronunciation for added entertainment value)
a row of knitting
We’ll never be perfect in any language, even our own, but one can get a fair way to understanding another. I’m learning German too - I’ll never be perfect (I’m only pre-intermediate level) but I read a German poem yesterday with a joke about declension in it - and I actually understood the joke and laughed!
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English Translation
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“Auf” moves the “lifting” of “heben” into the realm of the abstract–lifting a restriction, voiding a contract.
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