Bleib

Bleib is the informal second-person singular imperative form of the German verb bleiben, meaning to stay or remain. It is used to tell someone to stay where they are or to continue to be in a given state. Example: “Bleib hier!” (Stay here). It can also appear in phrases such as “Bleib ruhig” (Stay calm).

Forms and usage: The imperative forms of bleiben are bleib (du), bleibt (ihr), and bleiben Sie (Sie). The du form bleib is used with friends, family, or people of the same age; bleibt is used when addressing multiple people; bleiben Sie is the formal, polite form. In casual speech, Bleib’ is sometimes written with an apostrophe to reflect elision in spoken language (for example, “Bleib’ ruhig”).

Origin and function: Bleib derives from the verb bleiben, with roots in Old High German bleiban. The imperative bleib reflects the verb stem bleib- and is part of the wider system of German imperatives. It is commonly employed in directions, warnings, requests, and exhortations in everyday speech and writing.

Usage notes and related phrases: The root blieb in compound phrases such as “Bleib gesund” (Stay healthy) and “Bleib dran” (Keep at it). The past participle of bleiben is geblieben, and the present perfect tense is formed with ist geblieben (has remained). Bleib and its related forms illustrate how German uses the imperative mood to convey immediate, direct instruction.

See also: bleiben, German imperative, German language.