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fehlen . In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
fehlen , but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
fehlen in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
fehlen you have here. The definition of the word
fehlen will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
fehlen , as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
German
Etymology
From Middle High German vælen , velen , valen , from Old French faillir , from Latin fallō . Cognate with English fail .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /ˈfeːlən/
Hyphenation: feh‧len
Verb
fehlen (weak , third-person singular present fehlt , past tense fehlte , past participle gefehlt , auxiliary haben )
( with impersonal subject es , dative object and an ) to lack
Der Suppe fehlt es an Geschmack. The soup lacks flavor.
( with dative ) to be absent from, to be missing from, to be lacking in
Ich würde es kaufen, aber mir fehlt das Geld. I would buy it but I don't have the money.
( with dative ) to be missed by
Seit meinem Umzug fehlen mir meine Freunde. I've been missing my friends since I moved.
( with dative, regional ) to feel ill , to feel unwell
Fehlt dir etwas? - Nein, mir fehlt nichts , danke! ― Do you feel unwell ? - No, I'm fine , thanks!
Was fehlt ihr denn? ― What's wrong with her?
( intransitive ) to be missing
Das Gemälde fehlt an der Wand. The painting is missing from the wall.
( dated ) to fail
Usage notes
Note that the roles of subject and object are "reversed" from the English verbs that would be used to translate fehlen . For example:
Du fehlst mir. ― I miss you.
Ich fehle dir. ― You miss me.
When a location is given, the preposition used gives the location where what is missing is supposed to be. For example
Das Kissen ist auf dem Bett. ― The pillow is on the bed.
Das Kissen fehlt auf dem Bett. ― The pillow is missing from the bed.
The preposition auf is used rather than aus or von .
Conjugation
Conjugation of
fehlen (
weak , auxiliary
haben )
1 Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Composed forms of
fehlen (
weak , auxiliary
haben )
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
Further reading
“fehlen ” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
“fehlen ” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
“fehlen ” in Duden online
“fehlen ” in OpenThesaurus.de
Anagrams