sterben
German, verb
sterben is spelled S-T-E-R-B-E-N (7 letters) and appears 65 times per million words in written German, the 1,326th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Sterben is a German verb meaning “to die” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Sterben is a different word: “gerund of sterben”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “aufhören zu leben”.
What does sterben mean in English?
verb
- 1
to die
Mein Hund ist gestorben.
- 2
to die
Das Opfer ist einen schrecklichen Tod gestorben.
noun
- 1
neutergerund of sterben
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. aufhören zu leben
noun: 1. Vorgang, aus dem Leben zu scheiden beziehungsweise seinen Lebenszyklus zu beenden
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 sterben
- stirbt present singular third-person
- starb past
- gestorben participle past
- stürbe past subjunctive
- sein auxiliary
- 3 strong
- sterbend participle present
- sterbe first-person indicative present
- stirbst indicative present second-person
- sterbt indicative plural present
- sterbest second-person singular subjunctive
- sterbet plural second-person subjunctive
- starben first-person indicative plural
- stürben first-person formal plural
- starbst indicative preterite second-person
- starbt indicative plural preterite
- stürbest formal rare second-person
- stürbst formal rare second-person
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to sterben
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is sterben in German?
sterben appears 65 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).