stehen
German, verb/ˈʃteː.ən/
stehen is spelled S-T-E-H-E-N (6 letters) and appears 316 times per million words in written German, the 297th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Stehen is a German verb meaning “to stand (to be upright, support oneself in an erect position)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “sich auf den Beinen ohne Ortsveränderung aufhalten”.
What does stehen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to stand (to be upright, support oneself in an erect position)
Das Haus ist abgebrannt, aber die Wände stehen noch.
- 2
to be, to stand (to be placed or located somewhere in an upright position)
Ich stehe an der Ecke.
- 3
to be written, it says (in a book, on a sign, etc.)
Das Wort steht nicht im Wörterbuch.
- 4
to stay, to be still, to have stopped or not yet started moving
Das Leben steht.
- 5
to stay, to stand, to be (in a certain state, position or circumstance)
Das Haus steht leer.
- 6
to suit, to become (to look attractive on, of a garment, color etc.)
Blau steht dir sehr gut!
- 7
to represent, to stand for
Rote Rosen stehen für Liebe und Leidenschaft.
- 8
to support, to stand by
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. sich auf den Beinen ohne Ortsveränderung aufhalten 2. sich irgendwo befinden 3. sich in einer vertikalen Position befinden 4. nicht funktionieren, nicht arbeiten
noun: 1. Handlung zu stehen
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 stehen
- steht present singular third-person
- stand past
- gestanden participle past
- stände past subjunctive
- stünde past subjunctive
- haben auxiliary
- sein auxiliary
- haben or sein auxiliary
- stehend participle present
- stehe first-person indicative present
- stehst indicative present second-person
- stehest second-person singular subjunctive
- stehet plural second-person subjunctive
- standen first-person indicative plural
- ständen first-person plural subjunctive
- stünden first-person plural subjunctive
- standest indicative preterite second-person
- standst indicative preterite second-person
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce stehen?
- /ˈʃteː.ən/
- Germany /ʃteːn/
- Germany /ʃteːhən/
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to stehen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is stehen in German?
stehen appears 316 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).