essen
German, verb
essen is spelled E-S-S-E-N (5 letters) and appears 214 times per million words in written German, the 405th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Essen is a German verb meaning “to eat” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Essen is a different word: “meal”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “feste Nahrung oral einnehmen”.
What does essen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to eat
Er isst gern Schokolade.
- 2
to eat; to dine
Wir haben noch nicht gegessen.
noun
- 1
neutergerund of essen; eating
- 2
neutermeal
- 3
neuterfood
- 4
neutergroceries
noun
- 1
plural of Esse
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. feste Nahrung oral einnehmen 2. etwas als Nahrung dem Körper zuführen 3. etwas durch das Einnehmen der Nahrung in einen bestimmten Zustand bringen
noun: 1. eine zubereitete Speise 2. die Tätigkeit der Nahrungsaufnahme 3. Mahlzeit, festliche Mahlzeit 4. Lebensmittel
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of essen
- isst present singular third-person
- aß past
- gegessen participle past
- gessen obsolete participle past
- äße past subjunctive
- haben auxiliary
- 5 strong
- essend participle present
- esse first-person indicative present
- esst indicative plural present
- essest second-person singular subjunctive
- esset plural second-person subjunctive
- aßen first-person indicative plural
- äßen first-person formal plural
- aßest indicative preterite second-person
- aßt indicative preterite second-person
- äßest formal rare second-person
- äßt formal rare second-person
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to essen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is essen in German?
essen appears 214 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).