The idea
Present tense: ich leide, du leidest, er/sie/es leidet, wir leiden, ihr leidet, sie/Sie leiden. Learn the sentence pattern an etwas leiden; unter etwas leiden together with the principal parts.
| Form | Deutsch |
|---|---|
| ich | leide |
| du | leidest |
| er/sie/es | leidet |
| wir | leiden |
| ihr | leidet |
| sie/Sie | leiden |
| Präteritum | litt |
| Perfekt | hat gelitten |
| Imperativ (du) | Leide! |
| Muster | an etwas leiden; unter etwas leiden |
Meaning and sentence pattern
An plus dative often names an illness; unter plus dative names a burden or difficult condition. The verb describes suffering, not a diagnosis.
Learn this pattern as a unit: an etwas leiden; unter etwas leiden. The six situations below show the verb with concrete objects, complements or circumstances.
Form check
Sie hat geleidet.Sie hat gelitten.Leiden is strong: litt and gelitten.
Examples
- Ich leide unter dem ständigen Lärm im Hof.I suffer from the constant noise in the courtyard.
- Du leidest besonders unter dem langen Arbeitsweg.You suffer especially from the long commute.
- Die Pflanzen leiden unter der anhaltenden Trockenheit.The plants suffer from the persistent drought.
- Früher litt er oft unter Schlafmangel.He used to suffer frequently from lack of sleep.
- Die Zusammenarbeit hat unter den häufigen Wechseln gelitten.The cooperation suffered from the frequent changes.
- Warum leidet die Qualität bei jedem neuen Export?Why does the quality suffer with every new export?
Read-aloud uses a synthetic German voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No German device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
Leiden is strong: litt and gelitten.
Try it yourself
du ___ (leiden, Präsens)
Show answer or example answer
leidest
leidest: this is the second-person singular present form.
er/sie ___ (leiden, Präteritum)
Show answer or example answer
litt
litt: this is the third-person singular simple past.
Perfekt: er/sie hat ___
Show answer or example answer
gelitten
gelitten: in this use the perfect tense is hat gelitten.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
du ___ (leiden, Präsens)
er/sie ___ (leiden, Präteritum)
Perfekt: er/sie hat ___
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Read the six situations aloud, compare the verb forms, and complete the present, past and participle checks. Then write a new sentence that follows an etwas leiden; unter etwas leiden.