From Middle High German schmerzen, from Old High German smerzan, from Proto-Germanic *smertaną, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- (“to bite, sting”). Cognate with Dutch smarten, English smart, Low German smerten, Danish smerte, Swedish smärta.
schmerzen (weak, third-person singular present schmerzt, past tense schmerzte, past participle geschmerzt, auxiliary haben)
Although both schmerzen and verletzen are sometimes glossed as to hurt, schmerzen is more specific to pain, while verletzen carries additional connotations of to injure or to wound.
| infinitive | schmerzen | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present participle | schmerzend | ||||
| past participle | geschmerzt | ||||
| auxiliary | haben | ||||
| indicative | subjunctive | ||||
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| present | ich schmerze | wir schmerzen | i | ich schmerze | wir schmerzen |
| du schmerzt | ihr schmerzt | du schmerzest | ihr schmerzet | ||
| er schmerzt | sie schmerzen | er schmerze | sie schmerzen | ||
| preterite | ich schmerzte | wir schmerzten | ii | ich schmerzte1 | wir schmerzten1 |
| du schmerztest | ihr schmerztet | du schmerztest1 | ihr schmerztet1 | ||
| er schmerzte | sie schmerzten | er schmerzte1 | sie schmerzten1 | ||
| imperative | schmerz (du) schmerze (du) |
schmerzt (ihr) | |||
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
(But please keep in mind that „ich schmerze“ and „du schmerzt“ do not exist and do not make sense; at most: „Dein Schicksal schmerzt mich“ = “Your fate aches me / causes me pain”.)