bestehen

German

Etymology

From Middle High German bestān, bestēn, from Old High German bistān, from Proto-Germanic *bistandaną, *bistāną. Equivalent to be- + stehen (to stand, be on one's feet).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bəˈʃteːən/
  • Hyphenation: be‧ste‧hen
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -eːən

Verb

bestehen (irregular, third-person singular simple present besteht, past tense bestand, past participle bestanden, past subjunctive bestände or bestünde, auxiliary haben)

  1. (transitive) to succeed, to pass (an exam)
    Er hat die Prüfung bestanden.
    He has passed the exam.
  2. (intransitive) to consist (aus (of))
    • 1931, Gebhard Mehring, Schrift und Schrifttum, Silberburg-Verlag, page 21:
      Das römische Zahlensystem […] besteht aus 7 Buchstaben, die zur Bezeichnung von Zahlenwerten verwendet werden: M D C L X V I
      The Roman numeral system […] consists of 7 letters, which are used for the representation of numerical values: M D C L X V I
  3. (intransitive) to exist
    Durch geschicktes Management blieb die Firma auch im starken Wettbewerb bestehen.
    By smart management the company survived in the strong competition.
  4. (intransitive) to insist (auf (on))
    Er besteht darauf, dass dem Druck nicht nachgegeben wird.
    He insists on not giving in to the pressure.

Conjugation

Synonyms

Further reading

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