verlassen
German, verb
verlassen is spelled V-E-R-L-A-S-S-E-N (9 letters) and appears 89 times per million words in written German, the 976th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Verlassen is a German verb meaning “to leave, to abandon; to depart, to forsake” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a past participle of verlassen. With a capital, Verlassen is a different word: “gerund of verlassen”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “weggehen, sich entfernen”.
What does verlassen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to leave, to abandon; to depart, to forsake
Die Ratten verlassen das sinkende Schiff.
- 2
to leave, to desert, to dump (e.g. a partner in a romantic relationship)
Nach dreijähriger Beziehung verließ sie ihn.
- 3
to pass away; to cease; to die (with direct object uns)
Es tut mir leid, aber deine Mutter hat uns gestern Nacht verlassen.
- 4
rareto exit or close a computer program or app
- 5
to trust; to rely on
Ich verlasse mich darauf, dass du morgen da bist.
adjective
- 1
lonely, forsaken
- 2
abandoned, deserted
adverb
- 1
forlornly
verb
- 1
past participle of verlassen
noun
- 1
neutergerund of verlassen
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. weggehen, sich entfernen 2. die Beziehung beenden; jemanden alleine lassen 3. ein Verhalten, eine Sache als sicher annehmen und darauf vertrauen
adjective: 1. allein, einsam 2. leer, unbewohnt
verb: 1. Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verlassen
noun: 1. Vorgang, in dem man sich von etwas oder jemandem wegbewegt, entfernt
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 verlassen
- verlässt present singular third-person
- verließ past
- haben auxiliary
- 7 strong
- verlassend participle present
- verlasse first-person indicative present
- verlasst indicative plural present
- verlassest second-person singular subjunctive
- verlasset plural second-person subjunctive
- verließen first-person indicative plural
- verließe first-person formal rare
- verließest indicative preterite second-person
- verließt indicative preterite second-person
- verließet formal plural rare
- verlass imperative second-person singular
- verlasse! imperative singular
- verlasst! imperative plural
- verlassen haben active infinitive perfect
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to verlassen
- let
- leave
- quit
- abandoned
- desert
- lonely
- departure
- abandon
- ditch
- depart
- deserted
- abandoning
- waive
- desolate
- forsaken
- relinquish
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is verlassen in German?
verlassen appears 89 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).