bejahen

German

Etymology

16th century, equivalent to be- +‎ ja (“yes”) +‎ -en (with -h- as orthographic hiatus breaker). While the verb may have been derived directly from the interjection ja, an alternative possibility is that it is a reinterpretation of Middle High German bejëhen (“to acknowledge, admit”), from jëhen (“to say”). The according spelling bejähen is indeed attested in the 17th century.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bəˈjaːən/
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: be‧ja‧hen

Verb

bejahen (weak, third-person singular present bejaht, past tense bejahte, past participle bejaht, auxiliary haben)

  1. to affirm, approve, answer something in the affirmative
    Antonym: verneinen

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading

  • “bejahen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • “bejahen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
  • “bejahen” in Duden online
  • “bejahen” in OpenThesaurus.de
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