aß
aß is the German way to say ate.
aß is used to describe the action of consuming food in the past.
Which one should you use?
While aß is the correct simple past form, in spoken German, people almost always use the perfect tense hat gegessen instead of aß.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In spoken Austrian German, some speakers may say Ich habe gessen instead of Ich habe gegessen by dropping the '-e-'. In Swiss German dialects, the expression Ich habe gegessen is rendered as Ich han ässe.
Did you know?
- While aß is used for people, German uses a completely different verb, fressen, to describe when an animal 'ate'.
- The concept of 'eating' in German is sometimes used in idioms to describe things that are not food, such as 'to eat up' the wind (to sail fast).
- The word Fraß is the noun derived from the animal version of the verb fressen. It is used as a derogatory term for low-quality or tasteless food.
Examples in context
- Er aß das Brot.He ate the bread.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use aß with a direct object like bread.Tatoeba #8860976 by wolfgangth, translation #8480559 by CH
- Ich aß den Käse.I ate the cheese.This sentence shows how to use aß with a direct object like cheese.Tatoeba #631487 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #416554 by Scott
- Er aß etwas Sand.He ate some sand.This sentence shows how to use aß in a slightly unusual context with sand.Tatoeba #2051819 by samueldora, translation #1923380 by Spamster
- Entschuldigen Sie bitte, ich habe heute bereits Mittagessen gegessen.Excuse me, I've already had lunch today.
- Nach einem langen Arbeitstag habe ich endlich meine Mahlzeit eingenommen.After a long day at work, I finally had my meal.
- Hey, ich habe gerade Pizza gegessen. Willst du auch eine?Hey, I just ate pizza. Do you want some too?
- Gestern hatte ich so einen großen Appetit, dass ich mir den Bauch vollgeschlagen habe.Yesterday, I had such a big appetite that I stuffed myself.
- 276 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Laura and Julian are talking about their lunch break.
- LauraHast du den Apfel gegessen?Did you eat the apple?
- JulianJa, ich aß ihn schnell.Yes, I ate it quickly.
- LauraWar er süß?Was it sweet?
- JulianJa, er war sehr lecker.Yes, it was very delicious.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
