verstehen

Etymology

Borrowed from German verstehen (“understand, comprehend”).

Noun

verstehen (uncountable)

1. (sociology) A stance that attempts to understand the meaning of action from the actor's point of view, so that the actor is seen as a subject rather than an object of observation.

Etymology

From Middle High German verstān, virstēn, vorstēn, ferstān, from Old High German firstān, firstēn, from Proto-Germanic *frastāną, equivalent to ver- +‎ stehen. Cognate with Dutch verstaan, Scots forsta, Norwegian Bokmål forstå, Middle Low German vorstān. Compare also English forstand.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [fɛɐ̯ˈʃteːən]

• audio (Germany)

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• audio (Austria)

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Verb

verstehen (irregular, third-person singular simple present versteht, past tense verstand, past participle verstanden, auxiliary haben)

1. (transitive) to understand, to comprehend (to be aware of the meaning of)

   Ich verstehe, wie diese Maschine funktioniert ... — I understand how this machine works.

2. (reflexive) to get along well with (=mit), to like

   Sie verstehen sich miteinander. — They get along well with each other.

Further reading

• verstehen in Duden online