schweigen
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See also: Schweigen
German
Etymology
From Middle High German swīgen, from Old High German swīgēn, from Proto-West Germanic *swīgēn. The verb was originally weak, but developed strong forms in early Middle High German.
Pronunciation
Verb
schweigen (class 1 strong, third-person singular present schweigt, past tense schwieg, past participle geschwiegen, auxiliary haben)
- (intransitive) to be silent; to keep quiet
- Wer schweigt, stimmt zu!
- Who is silent agrees!
- 1921, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus:
- Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muß man schweigen.
- Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.
- 1931, Arthur Schnitzler, Flucht in die Finsternis, S. Fischer Verlag, page 105:
- Sie schwiegen lange. Als er endlich etwas sagen wollte, wehrte sie leise ab. „Heute nichts mehr, ich bitte dich darum“
- They were silent for a long time. When he finally wanted to say something, she softly refused. „Nothing more today, I beg you for that“
- (intransitive) to stop talking; to shut up
Conjugation
| infinitive | schweigen | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present participle | schweigend | ||||
| past participle | geschwiegen | ||||
| auxiliary | haben | ||||
| indicative | subjunctive | ||||
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| present | ich schweige | wir schweigen | i | ich schweige | wir schweigen |
| du schweigst | ihr schweigt | du schweigest | ihr schweiget | ||
| er schweigt | sie schweigen | er schweige | sie schweigen | ||
| preterite | ich schwieg | wir schwiegen | ii | ich schwiege1 | wir schwiegen1 |
| du schwiegst | ihr schwiegt | du schwiegest1 du schwiegst1 |
ihr schwieget1 ihr schwiegt1 | ||
| er schwieg | sie schwiegen | er schwiege1 | sie schwiegen1 | ||
| imperative | schweig (du) schweige (du) |
schweigt (ihr) | |||
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
