verb

lesen

read

Mit den Augen geschriebene Zeichen aufnehmen und ihren Sinn verstehen.

Definition & meaning

The word "lesen" primarily refers to the act of reading, where one perceives and interprets written or printed characters to understand their meaning. Beyond this common usage, the word has two other specific meanings:

To gather or harvest: This is an older, more literal meaning of the word. It is still used today in contexts such as "die Weinlese," which refers to the gathering of grapes for wine production. It implies picking or collecting things by hand, such as stones or fruit.
To lecture: In a university or academic context, it refers to a professor delivering a formal lecture on a specific subject (e.g., "über Philosophie lesen").

Grammar & Word origin

"Lesen" is a strong (irregular) verb. In the present tense, it undergoes a vowel change in the second and third person singular: "ich lese," "du liest," "er/sie/es liest." Its simple past form is "las" and the past participle is "gelesen."

The word originates from the Old High German "lesan," which originally meant "to gather," "to pick up," or "to collect." This root is shared with the Latin verb "legere." The transition in meaning from "gathering" to "reading" occurred because reading was conceptually seen as gathering or collecting letters and runes to make sense of them.