Darf der Freund mit 14 bei mir übernachten?

What does “überreden” mean in German?

German has two verbs that English collapses into “convince”: überzeugen and überreden. Überzeugen means “to convince,” using arguments and evidence; the listener walks away genuinely persuaded. Überreden means “to talk somebody into something,” using pressure, charm, or repetition; the listener gives in without fully agreeing. German parents and teachers use the split carefully. A child trying to überreden a parent is asking for a soft yes, not a real one, and German adults usually catch the move.

In this clip, a 14-year-old asks her stepmother to “meinen Papa überreden” (“talk my dad into”) letting her boyfriend sleep over. The stepmother shuts it down: “Vierzehn, nein. Und nur schon, dass du’s weißt, nächstes Jahr auch nicht.”