gegenüberstehen

German

Etymology

From gegenüber +‎ stehen.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ɡeːɡn̩ˈʔyːbɐˌʃteːən], [ɡeːɡŋ̩ˈʔyːbɐˌʃteːən]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: ge‧gen‧über‧ste‧hen

Verb

gegenüberstehen (irregular strong, third-person singular present steht gegenüber, past tense stand gegenüber, past participle gegenübergestanden, past subjunctive stände gegenüber or stünde gegenüber, auxiliary haben or sein)

  1. to face, to stand face-to-face with [with dative]
  2. (reflexive) to contradict each other (e.g. of viewpoints)
  3. (reflexive, sports) to face each other, to play against each other
  4. to contrast [with dative ‘with’]

Usage notes

Only the auxiliary haben is used in northern and central Germany. In southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, sein is common in the vernacular and also, alternatively, in standard usage.

Conjugation

Further reading