vermissen
/fɛɐ̯ˈmɪsn̩/
The English verb 'miss' is translated into German as vermissen. Wiktionary also lists sich sehnen.
Meaning: to feel the absence of someone or something, to feel the want or need of (verb)
Ways to say it
| German | IPA |
|---|---|
| vermissen | /fɛɐ̯ˈmɪsn̩/ |
| sich sehnen |
vermissen is used when you feel the absence of someone or something, or when you feel the want or need of them.
Which one should you use?
While vermissen describes the feeling of missing someone who is absent, sich sehnen nach expresses a much stronger, more poetic longing or yearning for someone or something.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
vermissen is a transitive verb that takes a direct accusative object. This means you do not need a preposition to say who or what you miss.
How do you pronounce it?
/fɛɐ̯ˈmɪsn̩/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use fehlen (to be missing or lacking) when they mean vermissen. While fehlen focuses on the state of something being gone, vermissen focuses on the person's emotional feeling of the absence.
Did you know?
- Unlike 'miss' in English, vermissen cannot be used to describe missing a train or a deadline. For those situations, Germans use verpassen.
- The phrase sich sehnen describes a yearning so deep that it is often associated with 'Weltschmerz', a specific German feeling of world-weariness or melancholic longing.
- The root of sehnen is potentially linked to the Proto-Indo-European root for 'seed', though linguists are still debating if this connection is real.
Examples in context
- Wirst du es vermissen?Are you going to miss it?This sentence is useful for asking about missing a specific thing or situation using vermissen.Tatoeba #6624782 by Felixjp, translation #3823322 by CK
- Wir vermissen Sie sehr.We miss you very much.This sentence is useful for expressing how much you miss someone using vermissen.Tatoeba #1503313 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #71633 by CK
- Du wirst Tom vermissen.You'll miss Tom.This sentence is useful for stating that someone will miss a person using vermissen.Tatoeba #6619614 by Felixjp, translation #2240369 by CK
- 182 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hannah and Maximilian are talking about a friend who moved away.
- HannahIch vermisse unsere gemeinsame Zeit.I miss our time together.
- MaximilianIch auch, es ist jetzt zu ruhig.Me too, it is too quiet now.
- HannahWirst du ihn auch so sehr vermissen?Will you miss him that much too?
- MaximilianJa, er war ein toller Freund.Yes, he was a great friend.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “miss” translations and entries vermissen, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries sehnen, sich, vermissen, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
