verstehen
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English
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from German Verstehen or German verstehen (“to understand, comprehend”).
Pronunciation
Noun
verstehen (uncountable)
- (sociology) A stance that attempts to understand the meaning of action from the actor’s point of view, so that the actor is seen as a subject rather than an object of observation.
German
Etymology
From Middle High German verstān, virstēn, vorstēn, ferstān, from Old High German firstān, firstēn, from Proto-Germanic *frastāną, equivalent to ver- + stehen. Cognate with Bavarian versteh, Dutch verstaan, Middle Low German vorstān. Compare also English forstand.
Pronunciation
Verb
verstehen (irregular strong, third-person singular present versteht, past tense verstand, past participle verstanden, past subjunctive verstände or verstünde, auxiliary haben)
- (transitive or intransitive) to understand
- to hear and interpret (speech)
- Ich verstehe dich nicht bei dem Lärm.
- I can't understand you with this noise.
- to comprehend, make sense of
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:begreifen
- Ich verstehe nicht, was du meinst.
- I don't understand what you mean.
- to take, see, gather (impute what is not explicitly stated)
- Ich verstehe das so, dass Sie unzufrieden sind.
- I understand this in such a way that you are dissatisfied.
- to know, have knowledge or understanding of (through experience or study)
- Er versteht viel von Autos. ― He knows a lot about cars.
- to hear and interpret (speech)
- (reflexive) to understand oneself, understand each other, be understood
- (with als) to see oneself as, to think of oneself as
- Wir verstehen uns als Dienstleister.
- We see ourselves as a service provider.
- to understand one another, be able to communicate
- Ich hoffe, wir verstehen uns.
- I hope we understand each other.
- (with mit) to get along with
- Die beiden verstehen sich gut. ― The two get along well.
- Wie verstehst du dich mit deinem Chef? ― How do you get along with your boss?
- (with auf) to be an expert (at something)
- Sie versteht sich auf gut getarnte Beleidigungen.
- She is an expert at making well disguised insults.
- to be meant, to have to be interpreted (in some way)
- Die angegebenen Preise verstehen sich ohne Mehrwertsteuer.
- The indicated prices do not include VAT.
- (literally, “The indicated prices should be understood as without VAT.”)
- (impersonal) to go without saying, to be obvious
- Es versteht sich, dass ... ― It goes without saying that ...
- (with als) to see oneself as, to think of oneself as
Conjugation
| infinitive | verstehen | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present participle | verstehend | ||||
| past participle | verstanden | ||||
| auxiliary | haben | ||||
| indicative | subjunctive | ||||
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| present | ich verstehe | wir verstehen | i | ich verstehe | wir verstehen |
| du verstehst | ihr versteht | du verstehest | ihr verstehet | ||
| er versteht | sie verstehen | er verstehe | sie verstehen | ||
| preterite | ich verstand | wir verstanden | ii | ich verstände1 ich verstünde1 |
wir verständen1 wir verstünden1 |
| du verstandest du verstandst |
ihr verstandet | du verständest1 du verstündest1 |
ihr verständet1 ihr verstündet1 | ||
| er verstand | sie verstanden | er verstände1 er verstünde1 |
sie verständen1 sie verstünden1 | ||
| imperative | versteh (du) verstehe (du) |
versteht (ihr) | |||
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.