wissen
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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See also: Wissen
Alternative forms
- wissn, wiss'n
Etymology
From Middle High German wizzen, from Old High German wizzan, from Proto-West Germanic *witan. Cognates include German wissen and Luxembourgish wëssen.
Pronunciation
Verb
wissen
- (transitive) to know
- 1938, Josef Weinheber, Wien wörtlich, Sieg der Provinz:
- I waaß net, es gibt so vü' Dichter in Wien,
und ålle geehrt und berühmt.- I didn't know there were so many poets in Vienna,
and all honorable and famous.
- I didn't know there were so many poets in Vienna,
References
- Maria Hornung, Sigmar Grüner (2002) “wissn”, in Wörterbuch der Wiener Mundart, 2nd edition, ÖBV & HPT
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Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch wisschen, from Old Dutch *wisken, from Proto-Germanic *wiskijaną.
Verb
wissen
- (transitive) to erase
Conjugation
| Conjugation of wissen (weak) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | wissen | |||
| past singular | wiste | |||
| past participle | gewist | |||
| infinitive | wissen | |||
| gerund | wissen n | |||
| present tense | past tense | |||
| 1st person singular | wis | wiste | ||
| 2nd person sing. (jij) | wist, wis2 | wiste | ||
| 2nd person sing. (u) | wist | wiste | ||
| 2nd person sing. (gij) | wist | wiste | ||
| 3rd person singular | wist | wiste | ||
| plural | wissen | wisten | ||
| subjunctive sing.1 | wisse | wiste | ||
| subjunctive plur.1 | wissen | wisten | ||
| imperative sing. | wis | |||
| imperative plur.1 | wist | |||
| participles | wissend | gewist | ||
| 1) Archaic. 2) In case of inversion. | ||||
Derived terms
- uitwissen
- wisser
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Noun
wissen
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Etymology
From Middle High German and Old High German wizzan, from Proto-West Germanic *witan, from Proto-Germanic *witaną, from Proto-Indo-European *wóyde (“to see, to know”).
Compare Dutch weten, Danish vide, Swedish veta, archaic Modern English wit and Latin videō (“to see”).
Pronunciation
Verb
wissen (preterite-present, third-person singular present weiß, past tense wusste, past participle gewusst, past subjunctive wüsste, auxiliary haben)
- (transitive or intransitive) to know; to be aware of (a fact)
- Ich weiß, wo du bist.
- I know where you are.
- von etwas wissen ― to know about something
- (transitive, higher register) to be assured that something or someone is in a certain state
- sich in Sicherheit wissen ― to be assured that one is safe
- die Wählerschaft hinter sich wissen ― to be assured of the electorate's support
- Ich will einfach nur meine Kinder in guten Händen wissen. ― All I want is to be sure that my children are in good hands.
- to remember (with noch)
- 1960, Marie Luise Kaschnitz, Schneeschmelze:
- »Als er neun Jahre alt war«, sagte die Frau, »hat er mich zum ersten Mal geschlagen. Weißt du noch?«
- "When he was nine," said the woman, "he hit me for the first time. Do you remember?"
Usage notes
- See kennen for the distinction between this verb and wissen.
Conjugation
| infinitive | wissen | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present participle | wissend | ||||
| past participle | gewusst | ||||
| auxiliary | haben | ||||
| indicative | subjunctive | ||||
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| present | ich weiß | wir wissen | i | ich wisse | wir wissen |
| du weißt | ihr wisst | du wissest | ihr wisset | ||
| er weiß | sie wissen | er wisse | sie wissen | ||
| preterite | ich wusste | wir wussten | ii | ich wüsste1 | wir wüssten1 |
| du wusstest | ihr wusstet | du wüsstest1 | ihr wüsstet1 | ||
| er wusste | sie wussten | er wüsste1 | sie wüssten1 | ||
| imperative | wisse (du) | wisst (ihr) | |||
1This form and alternative in würde both found.
Derived terms
- weiß der Geier
- weiß der Kuckuck
- weiß der Teufel
- Wissen
- Wissenschaft
- zu schätzen wissen
Further reading
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Verb
wissen
- To be familiar with.
- 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Freres Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC:
- Or we depart I shal thee so wel wisse / That of min hous ne shalt thou never misse
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- 1475, [unknown translator], Sidrak and Bokkus, translation of Livre de la fontaine de toutes sciences
- Shullen men chastice wymmen and wisse / Wiþ betyng whan þei done amisse?
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
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