German

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Etymology

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From gegenüber +‎ stehen.

Pronunciation

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  • Audio:(file)

Verb

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gegenüberstehen (irregular strong, third-person singular present steht gegenüber, past tense stand gegenüber, past participle gegenübergestanden, past subjunctive stände gegenüber or stünde gegenüber, auxiliary haben or sein)

  1. to face, to stand face-to-face with [with dative]
  2. (reflexive) to contradict each other (e.g. of viewpoints)
  3. (reflexive, sports) to face each other, to play against each other
  4. to contrast [with dative ‘with’]

Usage notes

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Only the auxiliary haben is used in northern and central Germany. In southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, sein is common in the vernacular and also, alternatively, in standard usage.

Conjugation

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Further reading

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