Beobachte

Beobachte is a German verb form derived from beobachten, meaning to observe, watch, or monitor. In everyday use, beobachte specifically appears as the first-person singular present indicative form: ich beobachte (“I observe”). It is one of several inflected forms of beobachten, a regular verb with the prefix be-.

In addition to the present indicative form beobachte, the verb's full conjugation in the present tense is: du beobachtest, er/sie/es beobachtet, wir beobachten, ihr beobachtet, sie/Sie beobachten. The word beobachte can also serve as a stem for other tenses: the simple past is beobachtete (ich beobachtete …), and the past participle is beobachtet (used withhaben in perfect tenses, e.g., ich habe beobachtet). The imperative form for the informal singular is Beobachte!, which commonly appears at the beginning of a directive sentence.

Beobachten is closely related to the noun Beobachtung (observation) and to Der Beobachter (the observer). The verb and its derivatives are widely used across contexts such as science, journalism, security, and everyday description when describing that someone is watching or studying something over time. The prefix be- often adds a sense of involvement or thoroughness to the action, distinguishing it from simple viewing.

Examples: Ich beobachte den Himmel und notiere Veränderungen. Wir beobachten die Reaktion der Bevölkerung. In formal writing, Beobachtende can describe a person who is observing in a broader sense (observer). The form beobachte itself is a standard and frequent component of German sentence construction, reflecting ongoing action by the speaker.