gehen
/ˈɡeːən/
The English phrase going is expressed in German as gehen.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb gehen has several forms depending on the tense and person. The third-person singular present form is geht, while the second-person singular present form is gehst. The first-person plural present form is also gehen. If you need the simple past, use ging. The past participle is gegangen.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈɡeːən/
Did you know?
- Modern German gehen is actually a hybrid of two different ancient words. The present tense comes from a root meaning 'to leave' while the past forms like gegangen come from a root meaning 'to walk'.
- When a German speaker says Es geht to describe how they are doing it literally means 'it goes'. It is the equivalent of saying 'I am getting by' or 'so-so'.
- In German the verb gehen is used for clocks to say they are 'running'. If a clock is 'going' well it is described using gehen.
Examples in context
- Wir gehen mit dir.We're going with you.Tatoeba #6624840 by Felixjp, translation #3310945 by CK
- Man sah sie gehen.They were seen going.Tatoeba #8349537 by manese, translation #9988791 by sundown
- Gehen wir weit weg?Are we going far?Tatoeba #2475435 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #1886361 by CK
- Ich gehe zur Arbeit.I am going to work.
- Um wie viel Uhr fährt der Zug ab?What time does the train depart?
- Wir sollten bald aufbrechen, um den Flug nicht zu verpassen.We should leave soon so we don't miss the flight.
- Ich gehe nun weg. Tschüss!I'm going away now. Goodbye!
- Es ist spät. Lass uns losgehen!It's late. Let's get going!
- 781 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Julian and Sarah are finishing a meeting at a cafe.
- JulianSarah, wollen wir gehen?Sarah, do we want to go?
- SarahJa, ich möchte jetzt gehen.Yes, I want to go now.
- JulianDann gehen wir los.Then let's go.
- SarahAlles klar, Julian.All right, Julian.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry gehen, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries gehen, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
