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GERMAN · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

leben.

to live, to be alive

5 characters2 syllables approx.Deutsch language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˈleːbən/[ˈleːbm̩][ˈleːb(ə)n]
  1. to live, to be alive

    intransitive · weak
    Lebt dein Uropa noch?
  2. to dwell, to reside

    intransitive · weak
    Ich lebe in der Schillerstraße in der Nähe des Stadtzentrums.
  3. to live, to exist, to occupy a place

    intransitive · weak
    Die Dinosaurier lebten für Jahrmillionen auf der Erde bevor der Mensch erschien.
  4. to live off, subsist (on), to survive (off)

    intransitive · weak
    Er lebte von Brot und Wasser.
    Diese Vogelart lebt von Insekten.
  5. to live off, subsist (on), to survive (off) to live off, to depend on

    figuratively · intransitive · weak
  6. to cope with, to live with, to deal with

    excessive · intransitive · weak
    Du wirst wohl damit leben müssen!
    Jeder muss mit seinen eigenen Problemen leben!
  7. to live, to lead (a certain life or existence)

    transitive · weak
    ein einfaches Leben leben
  8. to fulfill, to live out (a dream/wish regarding one's life)

    transitive · weak
  9. to put into practice, to routinely follow (of policies, ideologies or customs)

    transitive · weak
    Diese Änderungen funktionieren nur, wenn die entsprechenden Prozesse auch gelebt werden.
Where this word comes from

From Middle High German lëben and Old High German lëbēn, from Proto-West Germanic *libbjan, from Proto-Germanic *libjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“leave, cling, linger”). Cognate with Old Saxon libbian (Middle Low German leven, German Low German lęven, lewen (“to live”)), Dutch leven, English live, West Frisian libje, Old Norse lifa (Swedish leva), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (liban).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.