fordern
German, verb
fordern is spelled F-O-R-D-E-R-N (7 letters) and appears 36 times per million words in written German, the 2,298th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Fordern is a German verb meaning “to demand, ask” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With an umlaut, fördern is a different word: “to further, foster, advance, encourage, support (promote the…”. With a capital, Fordern is a different word: “gerund of fordern”. On this page, Fördern is a different word: “gerund of fördern”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “etwas (von jemandem) verlangen”.
What does fordern mean in English?
verb
- 1
to demand, ask
- 2
to claim
- 3
to require
Die schwersten Entscheidungen fordern den stärksten Willen.
- 4
to challenge
verb
- 1
to further, foster, advance, encourage, support (promote the development of)
- 2
to fund, co-fund, to provide financial aid for (a project etc.)
- 3
to mine (a resource), to win by mining
noun
- 1
neutergerund of fordern
noun
- 1
neutergerund of fördern
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. etwas (von jemandem) verlangen 2. zu einem Kampf herausfordern
verb: 1. jemanden beim Vorankommen unterstützen; zum Erfolg verhelfen 2. einen Rohstoff abbauen 3. dazu beitragen, etwas in einen besseren Zustand zu versetzen
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 fordern
- fordert present singular third-person
- forderte past
- gefordert participle past
- haben auxiliary
- fordernd participle present
- fordre first-person indicative present
- fordere first-person indicative present
- forder first-person indicative present
- forderst indicative present second-person
- forderest second-person singular subjunctive
- fordrest second-person singular subjunctive
- forderet plural second-person subjunctive
- fordret plural second-person subjunctive
- forderten first-person indicative plural
- fordertest indicative preterite second-person
- fordertet indicative plural preterite
- fodern variant archaic
- fordere! imperative singular
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to fordern
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is fordern in German?
fordern appears 36 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).