pflegen means to care about. like nurse cares about patients. schützen is to protect something from something bad/evil/... schonen means: You have an expensive jeans and you worry about getting it dirty. so you 'schonst' the pants by not jumping into muddy pits. bewahren means to keep a secret, treasure or ability behalten is to keep things in genereal or to not forget thoughts and memories beibehalten is to keep on an action, to keep an ability or habit aufrechterhalten: e.g. you are a doctor and try to maintain a patients life.