wegen

See also: Wegen

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋeːɣə(n)/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eːɣən

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch wēgen, from Old Dutch *wegan, from Proto-West Germanic *wegan, from Proto-Germanic *weganą, from Proto-Indo-European *wéǵʰeti.

Verb

wegen

1. (transitive) to weigh (to determine the weight or be of a specified weight)

   Synonym: wikken

   Hoeveel weeg je?

   How much do you weigh?

   Het schip was gebouwd voor een bemanning van 435 personen en woog 1200 ton.

   The ship was built for a crew of 435 people and weighed 1200 tons.

2. (transitive) to weight (to calibrate, to assign weight to individual statistics)
3. (transitive) to weigh (to evaluate, to assign value or relative importance to)

Inflection

Conjugation of wegen (strong class 4)
infinitive	wegen
past singular	woog
past participle	gewogen
infinitive	wegen
gerund	wegen n
	present tense	past tense
1st person singular	weeg	woog
2nd person sing. (jij)	weegt	woog
2nd person sing. (u)	weegt	woog
2nd person sing. (gij)	weegt	woogt
3rd person singular	weegt	woog
plural	wegen	wogen
subjunctive sing.1	wege	woge
subjunctive plur.1	wegen	wogen
imperative sing.	weeg
imperative plur.1	weegt
participles	wegend	gewogen
1) Archaic.

Derived terms

• afwegen
• bewegen
• verwegen
• weegschaal
• weger
• weging

 

Related terms

• gewicht
• wikken

Descendants

• Berbice Creole Dutch: wegi
• → Saramaccan: wegi
• → Sranan Tongo: wegi
  • → Caribbean Javanese: wégi

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

wegen

1. plural of weg

German

Etymology

Shortened version of von + [genitive object] + wegen, from Middle High German von + [genitive object] + wegen, with wegen being the dative plural of wec, modern-day Weg, but with a meaning similar to Ort, Stelle, Seite.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈveːɡən/, /ˈveːɡŋ̩/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: we‧gen

Preposition

wegen (+ genitive or dative)

1. for, because of

   Wegen des schlechten Wetters werden wir zu Hause bleiben.

   Because of the bad weather, we will stay at home.

Usage notes

1.) While use with the dative is now considered acceptable in informal use, it is still considered erroneous by conservative or linguistically aware speakers (except in certain cases, see below). In the standard language, wegen is usually followed by the original genitive:

• Die Autobahn wurde wegen eines Unfalls gesperrt. ― The autobahn was closed because of an accident.

Even in formal language, the dative case is normally used if the genitive would be indistinguishable from the nominative in form, which is the case with plural nouns not preceded by an article, determiner, or adjective:

• Die Autobahn wurde wegen Unfällen gesperrt. ― The autobahn was closed because of accidents.

The dative case is also used with pronouns whose genitive form is not heard as often, and if a possessive genitive is preceding the referent of the preposition.

• Er rief wegen etwas Wichtigem an. ― He called because of something important.
• Er rief wegen Peters neuem Auto an. ― He called because of Peter's new car. (→ wegen Peters neuen Autos is possible, but unusual)

Masculine and neuter singular nouns not preceded by an article, determiner, or adjective may take inflectional -(e)s, although this is now quite formal. Personal names never take an ending.

• Er war wegen Fieber(s) verhindert. ― He was unavailable because of a fever.
• Sie ist wegen Anton nach Köln gezogen. ― She moved to Cologne because of Anton.

Personal pronouns and some other pronouns have special contracted forms with wegen:

• meinetwegen, deinetwegen, seinetwegen, ihretwegen, unseretwegen, euretwegen
• dessentwegen, derentwegen, wessentwegen, weßwegen (dated)

2.) In the vernacular, and occasionally in writing, it is common to use the dative case after wegen at all times, whereby all the above peculiarities cease to apply. To some, the genitive may even sound pretentious in a private conversation. This is long-standing practice in the German dialects, which have mostly abolished the genitive per se.

• Die Autobahn wurde wegen einem Unfall gesperrt. ― The autobahn was closed because of an accident.

3.) In very formal usage, wegen may be used as a postposition (always with genitive).

• Die Autobahn wurde eines Unfalls wegen gesperrt. ― The autobahn was closed because of an accident.

Related terms

• deswegen
• von wegen!
• Weg
• weswegen

 

Further reading

• “wegen” in Duden online
• “wegen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “wegen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “wegen” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch *wegan, from Proto-Germanic *weganą, from Proto-Indo-European *wéǵʰeti.

Verb

wēgen

1. to weigh, to have a certain weight
2. to weigh, to determine the weight of
3. to weigh, to consider

Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Dutch: wegen, wikken
• Limburgish: waege

Further reading

• “weghen (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “wegen (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *waigijaną.

Verb

wēgen

1. to torment, to treat badly

Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Further reading

• “wēgen”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

West Frisian

Noun

wegen

1. plural of wei