leben
German
Etymology
From Middle High German and Old High German lebēn, from Proto-West Germanic *libbjan, from Proto-Germanic *libjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“leave, cling, linger”).
Cognate with Old Saxon libbian (Middle Low German leven, German Low German lęven, lewen (“to live”)), Dutch leven, English live, West Frisian libje, Old Norse lifa (Swedish leva), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (liban).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈleːbən/, [ˈleːbm̩], [ˈleːb(ə)n]
audio (file) audio (file) audio (file)
Verb
leben (weak, third-person singular present lebt, past tense lebte, past participle gelebt, auxiliary haben)
- (intransitive) to live, to be alive
- (intransitive) to dwell, to reside
- Ich lebe in der Schillerstraße in der Nähe des Stadtzentrums. ― I live in the Schiller-street near the city's center.
- 2010, Der Spiegel, number 35/2010, page 102:
- Es leben etwa 300 000 Bürger des ehemaligen Jugoslawien in der Schweiz, kaum ein Staat hat damals im Verhältnis zu seiner Einwohnerzahl so viele Flüchtlinge aufgenommen.
- There are (reside) about 300,000 citizens of the former Yugoslavia living in Switzerland, hardly any state took in so many refugees in relation to its population at that time.
- (intransitive) to live, to exist, to occupy a place
- Die Dinosaurier lebten für Jahrmillionen auf der Erde bevor der Mensch erschien. ― The dinosaurs existed on Earth for millions of years prior to the rise of man.
- (intransitive, hyperbolic) to cope with, to live with, to deal with
- Du wirst wohl damit leben müssen! ― You'll have to cope with it!
- Jeder muss mit seinen eigenen Problemen leben! ― Everybody has to deal with his own issues.
Conjugation
| infinitive | leben | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present participle | lebend | ||||
| past participle | gelebt | ||||
| auxiliary | haben | ||||
| indicative | subjunctive | ||||
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| present | ich lebe | wir leben | i | ich lebe | wir leben |
| du lebst | ihr lebt | du lebest | ihr lebet | ||
| er lebt | sie leben | er lebe | sie leben | ||
| preterite | ich lebte | wir lebten | ii | ich lebte1 | wir lebten1 |
| du lebtest | ihr lebtet | du lebtest1 | ihr lebtet1 | ||
| er lebte | sie lebten | er lebte1 | sie lebten1 | ||
| imperative | leb (du) lebe (du) |
lebt (ihr) | |||
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Synonyms
Derived terms
- auf großem Fuß leben
- in den Tag hinein leben
- über seine Verhältnisse leben
Old High German
Etymology 1
From Proto-West Germanic *libbjan, from Proto-Germanic *libjaną, related to Old English libban, Old Norse lifa. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“leave, cling, linger”).
Conjugation
| infinitive | lebēn | |
|---|---|---|
| indicative | present | past |
| 1st person singular | lebēm, lebēn | lebēta |
| 2nd person singular | lebēs, lebēst | lebētōs, lebētōst |
| 3rd person singular | lebēt | lebēta |
| 1st person plural | lebēm, lebēmēs | lebētum, lebētumēs |
| 2nd person plural | lebēt | lebētut |
| 3rd person plural | lebēnt | lebētun |
| subjunctive | present | past |
| 1st person singular | lebe | lebēti |
| 2nd person singular | lebēs, lebēst | lebētīs, lebētīst |
| 3rd person singular | lebe | lebēti |
| 1st person plural | lebēm, lebēmēs | lebētīm, lebētīmēs |
| 2nd person plural | lebēt | lebētīt |
| 3rd person plural | lebēn | lebētīn |
| imperative | present | |
| singular | lebe | |
| plural | lebēt | |
| participle | present | past |
| lebēnti | gilebēt | |
Descendants
Etymology 2
Derived from the verb lebēn.