hängen

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɛŋən/, ,

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: hän‧gen

Etymology 1

From a conflation of three interrelated verbs all originally meaning “to hang”, but varying in their transitivity and intransitivity: 1.) Middle High German hāhen (transitive and intransitive), from Old High German hāhan (chiefly transitive ), a strong verb with past forms hieng, gehangan, from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄han, from Proto-Germanic *hanhaną (intransitive). 2.) Middle High German hangen, from Middle High German hangēn (both intransitive). 3.) Middle High German hengen (“to hang, to dangle, to let go, to allow”), from Old High German hengen (“idem”), from Proto-West Germanic *hangijan, from Proto-Germanic *hangijaną (“to hang”, transitive).

Because of various interferences in the inflected forms, due to grammatischer Wechsel, umlaut and Rückumlaut, these three verbs were bound to be intermingled. Verbs 1 and 2 were merged in such a way that the present stem hang- was combined with the strong past forms of hāhen. This development is first attested in the north and seems to have spread from Middle Low German hangen to Central German dialects of Middle High German (14th century). The transitive verb 3 (hängen) was kept separate into the 20th century, at least by prescription, but the present stem is now häng- for all uses. The split is upheld in the past forms, but is not consistently followed outside of formal contexts.

Cognate to Dutch hangen, English hang.

Alternative forms

• hangen (generally archaic, but still sometimes in the South)

Verb

hängen (class 7 strong or irregular strong, third-person singular present hängt, past tense hing or (nonstandard) hang, past participle gehangen, auxiliary haben or sein)

1. (intransitive) to hang; to be suspended

   Synonym: baumeln

   Der Apfel hängt am Baum.

   The apple hangs on the tree.

2. (intransitive) to be attached to; to be fond of; to be devoted to; to cling to

   Er hängt sehr an seiner Schwester.

   He is very attached to his sister.

3. (intransitive, somewhat informal) to depend on

   Synonym: abhängen

   Es hängt alles daran, wie du dich entscheidest.

   It all depends on what decision you take.

4. (transitive, colloquial, otherwise proscribed) to hang something; to suspend

   Ich hab meine Jacke an die Garderobe gehangen.

   I’ve hung my jacket on the hallstand.

Usage notes

The most frequent auxiliary with hängen (past participle gehangen) is haben: Der Apfel hat am Baum gehangen. In northern and central Germany, only this form is used. In southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, sein is common in the vernacular and also, alternatively, in standard usage: Der Apfel ist am Baum gehangen.

Conjugation

Derived terms

• abhängen
• anhängen
• aufhängen
• hängenbleiben
• hängenlassen
• Hänger
• herabhängen

Etymology 2

From Middle High German hengen, that is “verb 3” in etymology 1. See above.

Verb

hängen (weak, third-person singular present hängt, past tense hängte, past participle gehängt, auxiliary haben)

1. (transitive) to hang something; to suspend

   Antonym: abhängen

   Ich habe meine Jacke an die Garderobe gehängt.

   I’ve hung my jacket on the hallstand.

3. (transitive) to hang someone; to execute by hanging

   Synonym: (dated) henken

   Wenn er verurteilt wird, hängen sie ihn.

   If he’s convicted, they’re going to hang him.

4. (reflexive) to hang on to; to follow

   Häng dich an deine Schwester, die weiß Bescheid.

   Hang on to your sister, she knows how things work.

Conjugation

Usage notes

• The verb is generally construed with the preposition an. It is followed by the dative case in intransitive use, and the accusative case in transitive or reflexive use.

Further reading

• “hängen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “hängen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “hängen” in OpenThesaurus.de

Low German

Etymology

From Middle Low German hengen, from Old Saxon hengian, from Proto-West Germanic *hangijan. See also hangen.

Verb

hängen (third-person singular simple present hängt, past tense häng, past participle hängt, auxiliary verb hebben)

1. (transitive) to hang (something); to suspend
2. (transitive) to hang (someone), e.g. for a crime
3. (reflexive, with “an ...”) to hang on (to something)
4. (intransitive) to hang; to be suspended (hangen is usually preferred in this sense)
5. (intransitive) to stick; to cling (hangen is usually preferred in this sense)
6. (intransitive, figuratively, with an) to be fond of, to feel strongly about (hangen is usually preferred in this sense)

   Bochum, ik häng an di.

   Bochum, I'm fond of you.

Usage notes

Hängen has a doublet with nearly the same meaning and usage, hangen. However, hängen is usually preferred in its transitive meaning, while hangen is more commonly used as an intransitive verb.

The strong preterite forms ik hung, du hungst, he hung, ... are sometimes found instead of the normal weak forms ik häng, du hängst, he häng, ... due to confusion with hangen.

Conjugation