Gönnen

Gönnen is a German verb with several related meanings centered on granting, permitting, or treating oneself, often expressed with a dative recipient and an accusative object. The basic sense is to wish someone well or to permit them to have something: Ich gönne dir den Erfolg. It can also mean to indulge someone with a favorable outcome or to grant a privilege.

In everyday speech, gönnen is used both for others and for oneself. With a reflexive form, sich etwas gönnen, it means to treat oneself to something: Ich gönne mir eine Pause. The construction typically uses a dative pronoun for the person and an accusative object for the thing: Er gönnte sich einen Tag frei. The verb can carry a positive tone, but in phrases like nicht gönnen it expresses envy, resentment, or unwillingness to allow someone else to have something.

Common usages include professional or personal contexts, such as granting someone success, a promotion, or leisure time: Wir gönnen ihm den Preis. Sich etwas gönnen is common for leisure or comfort, e.g., Urlaub, gutes Essen, or a new purchase.

Etymology traces gönnen to older Germanic roots related to Gunst (favor) and the idea of granting a benevolent favor. It has broad, colloquial usage across German-speaking regions and remains a versatile way to express benevolent permission, self-indulgence, or grudging reluctance, depending on context and voice.