gehen
/ˈɡeːən/
To walk in German is gehen.
gehen is used to mean moving on the feet, but it is more broadly used for the general sense of 'to go'. If you want to specify that you are walking specifically as a mode of transport (rather than driving or taking a bus), Germans often use the phrase zu Fuß gehen.
Meaning: to move on the feet (verb)
Which one should you use?
While gehen can mean 'to walk', it is more broadly used for 'to go' in general, whereas walking specifically refers to the mode of transport.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The simple past form of gehen is ging, and the past participle is gegangen. When using gehen in the perfect tense to express movement from A to B, it uses the auxiliary verb sein (ist gegangen) instead of haben.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈɡeːən/
Did you know?
- In German, you can use gehen to describe the functioning of a machine. If a watch or a clock 'walks' geht, it means it is working correctly.
- The verb gehen is a linguistic hybrid. Its basic form comes from a root meaning 'to leave', but its past forms like gegangen come from a different root meaning 'to walk'.
- While gehen is the standard way to say 'to go', the word wandern is used for the specific activity of hiking through nature.
Examples in context
- Gehen wir zu Fuß?Shall we walk?This sentence is useful for asking if the intended mode of transport is walking using gehen.Tatoeba #2799613 by freddy1, translation #320508 by CM
- Ich kann kaum gehen.I can barely walk.This sentence is useful for expressing a limited ability to walk using gehen.Tatoeba #8332643 by Luiaard, translation #3403354 by CK
- Ich kann nicht gehen.I can't walk.This sentence is useful for expressing an inability to walk using gehen.Tatoeba #1952820 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #1955125 by CK
- Entschuldigen Sie, könnten Sie bitte etwas langsamer gehen?Excuse me, could you please walk a bit slower?
- Möchten Sie im Park spazieren gehen?Would you like to go for a walk in the park?
- Lass uns zum Stadtzentrum gehen.Let's walk to the city center.
- 359 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hannah and Felix are deciding how to get to the city center.
- HannahSollen wir zum Zentrum gehen?Should we walk to the center?
- FelixJa, das Wetter ist heute schön.Yes, the weather is beautiful today.
- HannahWir können langsam gehen.We can walk slowly.
- FelixDas ist eine gute Idee, Hannah.That is a good idea, Hannah.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “walk” translations and entries 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.
