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verhalten

German, verb

verhalten is spelled V-E-R-H-A-L-T-E-N (9 letters) and appears 79 times per million words in written German, the 1,082nd most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Verhalten is a German verb meaning “to behave” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a past participle of verhalten. With a capital, Verhalten is a different word: “behaviour”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “zurückhalten, unterdrücken”.

What does verhalten mean in English?

verb

  1. 1

    to behave

  2. 2

    to be contradistinguished, to be characterized in relation to its environment; (reflexive, impersonal) to be

  3. 3

    to take a stand, to express an assessment of

  4. 4

    to comport oneself or have a bearing toward the world.

  5. 5

    archaicto repress, to make more slow

  6. 6

    to parry

  7. 7

    to have a good attitude towards oneself

  8. 8

    AustriaSwitzerlandto undertake

adjective

  1. 1

    restrained, subdued, limited (not very strong or passionate)

    Das Publikum bedachte die Rede mit verhaltenem Applaus.

verb

  1. 1

    past participle of verhalten

noun

as Verhalten
  1. 1

    neuterbehaviour

Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How German dictionaries define it

noun: 1. das, was jemand tut oder lässt und auf welche Weise 2. Gesamtheit aller von außen beobachtbaren Äußerungen eines Lebewesens

adjective: 1. ohne Auffälligkeit, mit geringem Aufwand, mit Zurückhaltung

verb: 1. zurückhalten, unterdrücken 2. sich benehmen 3. nähere Umstände aufweisen 4. sich in einer bestimmten Weise von etwas anderem unterscheiden

verb: 1. Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verhalten

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 verhalten

  • Verhaltens genitive
  • verhält present singular third-person
  • verhielt past
  • haben auxiliary
  • 7 strong
  • verhaltend participle present
  • verhalte first-person indicative present
  • verhältst indicative present second-person
  • verhaltet indicative plural present
  • verhaltest second-person singular subjunctive
  • verhielten first-person indicative plural
  • verhielte first-person formal rare
  • verhieltest indicative preterite second-person
  • verhieltst indicative preterite second-person
  • verhieltet indicative plural preterite
  • verhalt imperative second-person singular
  • verhaltener comparative
  • am verhaltensten superlative

Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).

English words that translate to verhalten

Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.

How common is verhalten in German?

verhalten appears 79 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).

What to look up after verhalten