From Middle High German hoffen (12th c.), from northern Old High German *hoffōn, from Proto-West Germanic *hopōn. It is uncertain whether the (unattested but probable) Old High German form was inherited or rather borrowed from Old Dutch hopon with implementation of the High German consonantism (which was then still entirely predictable). In fact, some scholars consider that all continental forms go back to Old English hopian, introduced as a religious term by Anglo-Saxon missionaries. The word was at any rate absent from Upper German, where it only established itself in later Middle High German, gradually displacing the now obsolete gedingen. See English hope for more.
hoffen (weak, third-person singular present hofft, past tense hoffte, past participle gehofft, auxiliary haben)
| infinitive | hoffen | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present participle | hoffend | ||||
| past participle | gehofft | ||||
| auxiliary | haben | ||||
| indicative | subjunctive | ||||
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| present | ich hoffe | wir hoffen | i | ich hoffe | wir hoffen |
| du hoffst | ihr hofft | du hoffest | ihr hoffet | ||
| er hofft | sie hoffen | er hoffe | sie hoffen | ||
| preterite | ich hoffte | wir hofften | ii | ich hoffte1 | wir hofften1 |
| du hofftest | ihr hofftet | du hofftest1 | ihr hofftet1 | ||
| er hoffte | sie hofften | er hoffte1 | sie hofften1 | ||
| imperative | hoff (du) hoffe (du) |
hofft (ihr) | |||
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
From Middle High German hoffen, eventually from Proto-West Germanic *hopōn. The Luxembourgish form would require an anomalous Middle High German *huffen, which is possible since the word was originally rare in High German and is even thought to be an early borrowing from Low Franconian or Saxon. However, it is perhaps more likely that the modern vocalism is due to influence by German hoffen (given the word’s frequent use in religious contexts).
hoffen (third-person singular present hofft, past participle gehofft, auxiliary verb hunn)
| Regular | ||
|---|---|---|
| infinitive | hoffen | |
| participle | gehofft | |
| auxiliary | hunn | |
| present indicative |
imperative | |
| 1st singular | hoffen | — |
| 2nd singular | hoffs | hoff |
| 3rd singular | hofft | — |
| 1st plural | hoffen | — |
| 2nd plural | hofft | hofft |
| 3rd plural | hoffen | — |
| (n) or (nn) indicates the Eifeler Regel. | ||
hoffen (not mutable)