adjective

gelesen

read

Das bedeutet, dass man einen Text oder ein Buch schon mit den Augen und dem Kopf aufgenommen hat.

Definition & meaning

The word gelesen is the past participle of the German verb lesen, which translates to "to read" in English. Its primary meaning refers to the completed action of perceiving and interpreting written or printed words.

It can be used in two main ways:

As a verb form: It is used to create the perfect tenses (e.g., "Ich habe das Buch gelesen" – I have read the book) or the passive voice.
As an adjective: It describes a text or book that has been finished. In a more figurative sense, it can relate to someone who is well-read, though the specific term belesen is more commonly used for that purpose.

Grammar & Word origin

Grammatically, gelesen is the Partizip II (past participle) of the strong verb lesen.

The word is composed of:

ge-: The prefix typically used to form the past participle in German.
les: The verbal root.
-en: The suffix used for strong (irregular) verbs in their participle form.

The word originates from the Old High German "lesan," which initially meant "to gather," "to pick," or "to collect." This original meaning survives in modern German contexts such as the Weinlese (grape harvest) or the verb auflesen (to pick up). The meaning evolved from "gathering letters" to the modern concept of reading.