lesen

See also: Lesen and lësen

Galician

Verb

lesen

third-person plural imperfect subjunctive of ler

German

Etymology

From Middle High German lësen, from Old High German lësan, from Proto-West Germanic *lesan, from Proto-Germanic *lesaną (“to gather”), from Proto-Indo-European *les- (“to gather”).

Cognate with English lease (“to gather”) [with an obsolete meaning], cognate with Low German lesen (“to read”), Dutch lezen (“to read”), Afrikaans lees (“to read”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈleːzn̩/ (Germany)
IPA^(key): /ˈleːsn̩/ (Austria)
IPA^(key): /ˈleɪ̯zə/ (Netherlands)
Audio: (file)
Audio (Germany (Berlin)): (file)
Audio (Austria): (file)

Verb

lesen (class 5 strong, third-person singular present liest, past tense las, past participle gelesen, past subjunctive läse, auxiliary haben)

(transitive or intransitive) to read (to look at and understand symbols, words, or data)
Er kann nicht lesen. ― He doesn't know how to read.

Ich lese gerne Autobiographien. ― I like reading autobiographies.
(reflexive) to read (to give off a certain impression while being read; of a text)
Das liest sich fast wie ein Abenteuerroman. ― This almost reads like an adventure novel.
(transitive) to select and gather or harvest (grapes, etc.)

Conjugation

Conjugation of lesen (class 5 strong, auxiliary haben)

	singular	plural		singular	plural
infinitive		lesen
present participle		lesend
past participle		gelesen
auxiliary		haben
	indicative			subjunctive
present	ich lese	wir lesen	i	ich lese	wir lesen
	du liest	ihr lest		du lesest	ihr leset
	er liest	sie lesen		er lese	sie lesen

preterite	ich las	wir lasen	ii	ich läse¹	wir läsen¹
	du lasest du last	ihr last		du läsest¹ du läst¹	ihr läset¹ ihr läst¹
	er las	sie lasen		er läse¹	sie läsen¹

imperative	lies (du)	lest (ihr)

¹Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.

Composed forms of lesen (class 5 strong, auxiliary haben)

perfect
	singular	plural		singular	plural
indicative	ich habe gelesen	wir haben gelesen	subjunctive	ich habe gelesen	wir haben gelesen
	du hast gelesen	ihr habt gelesen		du habest gelesen	ihr habet gelesen
	er hat gelesen	sie haben gelesen		er habe gelesen	sie haben gelesen
pluperfect
indicative	ich hatte gelesen	wir hatten gelesen	subjunctive	ich hätte gelesen	wir hätten gelesen
	du hattest gelesen	ihr hattet gelesen		du hättest gelesen	ihr hättet gelesen
	er hatte gelesen	sie hatten gelesen		er hätte gelesen	sie hätten gelesen
future i
infinitive	lesen werden		subjunctive i	ich werde lesen	wir werden lesen
				du werdest lesen	ihr werdet lesen
				er werde lesen	sie werden lesen

indicative	ich werde lesen	wir werden lesen	subjunctive ii	ich würde lesen	wir würden lesen
	du wirst lesen	ihr werdet lesen		du würdest lesen	ihr würdet lesen
	er wird lesen	sie werden lesen		er würde lesen	sie würden lesen
future ii
infinitive	gelesen haben werden		subjunctive i	ich werde gelesen haben	wir werden gelesen haben
				du werdest gelesen haben	ihr werdet gelesen haben
				er werde gelesen haben	sie werden gelesen haben

indicative	ich werde gelesen haben	wir werden gelesen haben	subjunctive ii	ich würde gelesen haben	wir würden gelesen haben
	du wirst gelesen haben	ihr werdet gelesen haben		du würdest gelesen haben	ihr würdet gelesen haben
	er wird gelesen haben	sie werden gelesen haben		er würde gelesen haben	sie würden gelesen haben

Derived terms

compound nouns

Related terms

Hungarian

Etymology

les +‎ -en

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈlɛʃɛn]
Hyphenation: le‧sen

Noun

lesen

superessive singular of les

Low German

Alternative forms

leesen
lësen (western Low Prussian)
lëse (eastern Low Prussian)
lezen (especially Dutch Low Saxon)
leazn (Dutch Low Saxon)

Etymology

From Middle Low German lēsen, from Old Saxon lesan.

Cognate with Plautdietsch läsen; German lesen; Dutch lezen.

Verb

lesen (past singular lees, past participle leest or gelesen, auxiliary verb hebben)

(transitive or intransitive) to read
Hest du de Daagbläder vunmorgen leest?
Did you read the newspapers this morning?
(rare, dated, transitive or intransitive) to gather up

Conjugation

Conjugation of *lesen* (weak verb)
	present	preterite
infinitive	lesen

1st person singular	lees	lees
2nd person singular	leess(t)	leess(t)
3rd person singular	lees(t)	lees
plural	leest, leesen	lesen

	imperative
singular	lees(e)
plural	leest

	present	past
participle	lesen	(e)leest, geleest

Note: This conjugation is one of many.
Neither its grammar nor spelling apply to all dialects.

Conjugation of *lesen* (class 5 strong verb)
	present	preterite
infinitive	lesen

1st person singular	lees	lees
2nd person singular	liss(t)	leess(t)
3rd person singular	lis(t)	lees
plural	leest, leesen	lesen

	imperative
singular	lees
plural	leest

	present	past
participle	lesen	(e)lesen, gelesen

Note: This conjugation is one of many.
Neither its grammar nor spelling apply to all dialects.

3rd ps. sg. pres.: (hei) lest, les't
imp. sg.: les'

Malay

Alternative forms

lisensi (Indonesia)

Etymology

Borrowed from English licence. The loss of the final consonant -ce /s/ is either due to constraint against final consonant clusters, or being analysed as a plural ending (Malay lacked regular plurals).

Pronunciation

(Literary Standard) IPA^(key): /ˈlesen/ [ˈle.sen]
Rhymes: -sen, -en
Hyphenation: le‧sen

Noun

lesen (Jawi spelling ليسين, plural lesen-lesen or lesen²)

licence

Derived terms

Affixations

Compounds

kedai lesen

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch lesan, from Proto-West Germanic *lesan, from Proto-Germanic *lesaną, from Proto-Indo-European *les- (“to gather”).

Verb

lēsen

to gather, to collect
to read
to read out loud (to an audience)

Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

Dutch: lezen
- Afrikaans: lees
- Berbice Creole Dutch: lesi
- Javindo: lesen
- Jersey Dutch: lêze
- Negerhollands: lees
- → Lokono: alesedin
- →? Mahican: lesówu
- → Papiamentu: lesa, leza
- → Sranan Tongo: leisi
  - Aukan: leisi
  - Saramaccan: lési
  - → Caribbean Javanese: lési
  - → Kari'na: resima
Limburgish: laeze, leuze

Middle English

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English *lēosan (attested in compounds such as forlēosan), from Proto-West Germanic *leusan, from Proto-Germanic *leusaną.

Alternative forms

leese, lese, leys
leosien (Early Middle English); lesse, leze, lyse (late); lesyn (Promptorium Parvulorum)
leis (Early Scots); lesin (East Saxon); liese, lyese (Kent);
leose, leosen, leuse, loese, luese, luse (Southern, West Midland)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈleːzən/
IPA^(key): /ˈløːzən/ (Southern, West Midland)

Verb

lesen (third-person singular simple present leseth, present participle lesynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative les, past participle loren)

(transitive) To lose; to stop having or owning:
1. To misplace or mislay; to lose track of.
2. To forfeit; to be deprived of or have confiscated.
3. To lose an individual (especially through death)
4. To lose a (usually positive) attribute, condition or quality.
5. (rare) To forget about.
(transitive) To fail or be unsuccessful at:
1. To lose out on; to fail to acquire.
2. To lose a battle or competition.
3. (rare) To neglect to attend (Mass)
(transitive) To damage or ruin:
Synonyms: destroyen, merren, stroyen
1. To destroy or devastate; to cause the destruction of:
2. To kill or murder; to end the life of.
3. To doom; to consign to eternal damnation.
  - c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎^[2], published c. 1410, Matheu 10:28, folio 4, verso; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:
    and nyle ȝe dꝛede hem þat moun ſle þe bodi .· foꝛ þei moun not ſle þe ſoule / but raþere dꝛede ȝe hym þat mai leeſe boþe bodi and ſoule in to helle
    But don't fear those who can kill the body, because they can't kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who can destroy both the body and soul in Hell.
4. To waste or squander (effort)
(transitive) To abandon or desert someone.

Conjugation

Conjugation of *lesen* (strong class 2 or weak in -te/-ede)
	present tense	past tense
infinitive	(to) lesen, lese

1st-person singular	lese	les, leste, lesed(e)
2nd-person singular	lesest, lest	lore¹, lestest, lesedest
3rd-person singular	leseth, lest	les, leste, lesed(e)
subjunctive singular	lese	lore², leste², lesed(e)
imperative singular	lese	—

plural³	lesen, lese	loren, lore, lesten, leste, leseden, lesed(e)
imperative plural	leseth, lese	—

participles	lesynge, lesende	(y)loren, (y)lore, (y)lest, (y)lesed

¹ Later replaced by the 1st-/3rd-person singular or lesest.
² Later replaced by the indicative.
³ Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

English: leese, lese (obsolete)
Middle Scots: leis

References

“lẹ̄sen, v.(4).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

PIE root
*lewh₁-

Inherited from Anglian Old English lēsan (West Saxon Old English līesan), from Proto-West Germanic *lausijan, from Proto-Germanic *lausijaną.

Alternative forms

leese, lese, leson, lesse
lesenn (Ormulum)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈleːzən/

Verb

lesen (third-person singular simple present leseth, present participle lesende, lesynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle lesed)

(transitive) To loosen; to make loose:
1. To unfasten or open; to loosen an opening.
2. To relax or release (of the body)
(transitive) To free or save:
1. To spare from punishment or hardship.
2. To liberate from captivity or subjugation.
3. (Christianity) To redeem; to rescue from Hell.
  Synonym: redemen
4. (Christianity, rare) To exempt from (the consequences of) sin.
(transitive) To alleviate distress, hunger, or pain.

Conjugation

Conjugation of *lesen* (weak in -ede/-te)
	present tense	past tense
infinitive	(to) lesen, lese

1st-person singular	lese	lesed(e), leste
2nd-person singular	lesest	lesedest, lestest
3rd-person singular	leseth	lesed(e), leste
subjunctive singular	lese	lesed(e), leste
imperative singular	lese	—

plural¹	lesen, lese	leseden, lesed(e), lesten, leste
imperative plural	leseth, lese	—

participles	lesynge, lesende	lesed, lest, ylesed, ylest

¹ Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

English: leese, lease (dialectal)
>? Middle Scots: lese (or a back-formation from relese)
- Scots: lease, leese

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈlɛ̞ːzən/

Verb

lesen (third-person singular simple present leseth, present participle lesende, lesynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle lesed)

(transitive) To gather (crops or fruit)
(transitive) To cull or select worthless material (from fruit or rice)
(transitive, rare) To embrace or hug.

Conjugation

Conjugation of *lesen* (strong class 5 or weak in -ede)
	present tense	past tense
infinitive	(to) lesen, lese

1st-person singular	lese	las, lesed(e)
2nd-person singular	lesest	lese¹, lase¹, lesedest
3rd-person singular	leseth	las, lesed(e)
subjunctive singular	lese	lese², lase², lesed(e)
imperative singular	lese	—

plural³	lesen, lese	lesen, lese, lasen, lase, leseden, lesed(e)
imperative plural	leseth, lese	—

participles	lesynge, lesende	lesen, lese, lesed, ylesen, ylese

¹ Later replaced by the 1st-/3rd-person singular or lasest.
² Later replaced by the indicative.
³ Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

English: lease (dialectal)

References

“lēsen, v.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 4

Inherited from Old English lēasian, from Proto-West Germanic *lausēn; by surface analysis, les (“falsehood”) +‎ -en (infinitival suffix).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈlɛ̝ːzən/

Verb

lesen (third-person singular simple present leseth, present participle lesende, lesynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle lesed)

(intransitive, hapax legomenon) To lie; to tell falsehoods about.

Conjugation

Conjugation of *lesen* (weak in -ede)
	present tense	past tense
infinitive	(to) lesen, lese

1st-person singular	lese	lesed(e)
2nd-person singular	lesest	lesedest
3rd-person singular	leseth	lesed(e)
subjunctive singular	lese	lesed(e)
imperative singular	lese	—

plural¹	lesen, lese	leseden, lesed(e)
imperative plural	leseth, lese	—

participles	lesynge, lesende	lesed, ylesed

¹ Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

English: lease (dialectal)

References

“lēsen, v.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 5

Inherited from Old English lǣsian, variant of lǣswian; by surface analysis, lese (“pasture”) +‎ -en (infinitival suffix).

Alternative forms

lese

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈlɛ̝ːzən/

Verb

lesen (third-person singular simple present leseth, present participle lesende, lesynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle lesed)

(transitive, hapax legomenon) To herd livestock on a pasture; to pasture

Conjugation

Conjugation of *lesen* (weak in -ede)
	present tense	past tense
infinitive	(to) lesen, lese

1st-person singular	lese	lesed(e)
2nd-person singular	lesest	lesedest
3rd-person singular	leseth	lesed(e)
subjunctive singular	lese	lesed(e)
imperative singular	lese	—

plural¹	lesen, lese	leseden, lesed(e)
imperative plural	leseth, lese	—

participles	lesynge, lesende	lesed, ylesed

¹ Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

References

“lēswen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 6

Noun

lesen

(West Midland) plural of lese

Middle High German

Etymology

Inherited from Old High German lësan, from Proto-West Germanic *lesan, from Proto-Germanic *lesaną (“to collect”). The sense “to read”, found throughout North and West Germanic except English, is a semantic loan from Latin legō.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (before 13^th CE) /ˈlɛs̠ən/

Verb

lësen (class 5 strong, third-person singular present liset, past tense las, past participle gelësen, past subjunctive lære, auxiliary hān)

to read, to read aloud
to examine
to collect

Conjugation

Conjugation of lësen (class 5 strong, auxiliary hān)

	singular	plural		singular	plural
infinitive		lësen
genitive gerund		lësennes lësenes
dative gerund		lësenne lësene
present participle		lësende
past participle		gelësen
auxiliary		hān
	indicative			subjunctive
present	ich lise	wir lësen	i	ich lëse	wir lësen
	du lisest	ir lëset		du lësest	ir lëset
	ër liset	sie lësent		ër lëse	sie lësen

preterite	ich las	wir lāren	ii	ich lære	wir læren
	du lære	ir lāret		du lærest	ir læret
	ër las	sie lāren		ër lære	sie læren

imperative	lis (du)	lëset (ir)

Composed forms of lësen (class 5 strong, auxiliary hān)

perfect
	singular	plural		singular	plural
indicative	ich hān gelësen	wir hān gelësen	subjunctive	ich habe gelësen	wir haben gelësen
	du hāst gelësen	ir hāt gelësen		du habest gelësen	ir habet gelësen
	ër hāt gelësen	sie hānt gelësen		ër habe gelësen	sie haben gelësen
pluperfect
indicative	ich habete gelësen	wir habeten gelësen	subjunctive	ich habete gelësen	wir habeten gelësen
	du habetest gelësen	ir habetet gelësen		du habetest gelësen	ir habetet gelësen
	ër habete gelësen	sie habeten gelësen		ër habete gelësen	sie habeten gelësen
future i
infinitive	lësen süln		subjunctive i	ich sul lësen	wir suln lësen
				du sule lësen	ir sulet lësen
				ër sul lësen	sie suln lësen

indicative	ich sol lësen	wir sulen lësen	subjunctive ii	ich sölte lësen ich sölde lësen	wir sölten lësen wir sölden lësen
	du solt lësen	ir sulet lësen		du söltest lësen du söldest lësen	ir söltet lësen ir söldet lësen
	ër sol lësen	sie sulen lësen		ër sölte lësen ër sölde lësen	sie sölten lësen sie sölden lësen
future ii
infinitive	gelësen hān süln		subjunctive i	ich sul gelësen hān	wir suln gelësen hān
				du sule gelësen hān	ir sulet gelësen hān
				ër sul gelësen hān	sie suln gelësen hān

indicative	ich sol gelësen hān	wir sulen gelësen hān	subjunctive ii	ich sölte gelësen hān ich sölde gelësen hān	wir sölten gelësen hān wir sölden gelësen hān
	du solt gelësen hān	ir sulet gelësen hān		du söltest gelësen hān du söldest gelësen hān	ir söltet gelësen hān ir söldet gelësen hān
	ër sol gelësen hān	sie sulen gelësen hān		ër sölte gelësen hān ër sölde gelësen hān	sie sölten gelësen hān sie sölden gelësen hān

Descendants

Alemannic German: läse, lääse
Bavarian: lesn
Cimbrian: lesan, lèzan (Sette Comuni)
Central Franconian:
Hunsrik: lese
German: lesen
Luxembourgish: liesen
Rhine Franconian:
Pennsylvania German: lese
Vilamovian: łaoza

Norwegian Nynorsk

Participle

lesen (neuter lese, definite singular and plural lesne)

past participle of lesa

Anagrams

lesne, nesle, selen

Galician

Verb

German

Etymology

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

Hungarian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Low German

Alternative forms

Etymology

Verb

Conjugation

Malay

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Further reading

Middle Dutch

Etymology

Verb

Inflection

Descendants

Further reading

Middle English

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Descendants

References

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Descendants

References

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Descendants

References

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Descendants

References

Etymology 5

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

References

Etymology 6

Noun

Middle High German

Etymology

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Descendants

Norwegian Nynorsk

Participle

Anagrams