ich wurde geboren
The English phrase "I was born" is translated into German as ich wurde geboren.
This phrase is used to state the date or place of one's birth.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, ich wurde geboren translates to "I became born".
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses a passive voice construction. It combines the auxiliary verb werden in the preterite (past tense) with the past participle geboren.
Did you know?
- In German, the word geboren is the past participle of gebären, which means 'to give birth'. This shifts the focus to the act of the mother giving birth rather than the baby's experience.
- The singular form wurde actually evolved from the plural form wurden. This happened because the original singular form sounded too similar to the German words for 'was' and 'were'.
- While ich wurde geboren is the standard way to state one's birth, the verb geboren is also used in the phrase geboren sein to describe a natural talent, such as being 'born' to be a musician.
Examples in context
- Ich wurde geboren, um dich zu lieben.I was born to love you.This sentence is useful for illustrating how to use ich wurde geboren.Tatoeba #1544870 by irisretina, translation #68812 by Ricardo14
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries geboren, ich, wurde, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
