sitzen
German
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom Middle High German sitzen, from Old High German sizzen, sitten, from Proto-West Germanic *sittjan. Cognate with Low German sitten, Dutch zitten, English sit, Danish sidde.
Pronunciation
edit- IPA(key): /ˈzɪtsn̩/, /ˈzɪtsən/ (prescriptive standard)
- IPA(key): /ˈsitsn̩/ (Austria, Bavaria)
Audio: (file) Audio: (file)
Verb
editsitzen (class 5 strong, third-person singular present sitzt, past tense saß, past participle gesessen, past subjunctive säße, auxiliary haben or sein)
- (intransitive) to sit; to perch [auxiliary haben or sein]
- (intransitive) to stay (in one place); to remain; to be (in a particular place or state) [auxiliary haben or sein]
- Wir saßen fest! ― We were stuck!
- (intransitive, of clothing) to fit [auxiliary haben or sein]
- (intransitive, regional, in certain constructions) to be (e.g. with voller)
- Der Schrank sitzt voller Motten. ― The cupboard is full of moths.
- (intransitive, colloquial) to do time; to spend time in jail [auxiliary haben]
- im Gefängnis sitzen. ― to be in jail.
- (intransitive, colloquial, of a strike, a comment, etc.) to hit home; to have a significant effect [auxiliary haben]
- (intransitive, Switzerland) to sit down
Usage notes
editThe most frequent auxiliary with sitzen is haben: Ich habe gesessen. In northern and central Germany, only this form is used. In southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, sein is common in the vernacular and also, alternatively, in standard usage: Ich bin gesessen. However, for some meanings like 5 and 6, haben is used everywhere. This can lead to misunderstandings.
Conjugation
editinfinitive | sitzen | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | sitzend | ||||
past participle | gesessen | ||||
auxiliary | haben or sein | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich sitze | wir sitzen | i | ich sitze | wir sitzen |
du sitzt | ihr sitzt | du sitzest | ihr sitzet | ||
er sitzt | sie sitzen | er sitze | sie sitzen | ||
preterite | ich saß | wir saßen | ii | ich säße1 | wir säßen1 |
du saßest du saßt |
ihr saßt | du säßest1 du säßt1 |
ihr säßet1 ihr säßt1 | ||
er saß | sie saßen | er säße1 | sie säßen1 | ||
imperative | sitz (du) sitze (du) |
sitzt (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editFurther reading
edit- German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- German terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- German terms inherited from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Middle High German
- German terms inherited from Old High German
- German terms derived from Old High German
- German terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- German 2-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- German lemmas
- German verbs
- German strong verbs
- German class 5 strong verbs
- German verbs using haben as auxiliary
- German verbs using sein as auxiliary
- German verbs using haben and sein as auxiliary
- German intransitive verbs
- German terms with usage examples
- Regional German
- German colloquialisms
- Switzerland German