Heben

Heben is a German verb meaning to lift or raise, used for physical movement as well as metaphorical elevation. It describes actions such as lifting a load, raising a limb, or elevating a mood or argument. The verb combines with several separable prefixes that modify its sense, producing related verbs such as hochheben, aufheben, or abheben.

Etymology: Heben originates in the Germanic language family and has cognates in other West Germanic languages, including Dutch heffen and English heave. The core idea of lifting has remained central through its historical development.

Conjugation: Präsens forms are ich hebe, du hebst, er hebt, wir heben, ihr hebt, sie heben. Präteritum (simple past) forms are ich hob, du hobst, er hob, wir hoben, ihr hobt, sie hoben. The past participle is gehoben, used with the auxiliary haben (ich habe gehoben, du hast gehoben, etc.).

Separable-prefix verbs: Many phrases with heben use prefixes that detach in finite forms. Examples include hochheben (to lift up), aufheben (to lift up or to suspend/abolish), abheben (to withdraw money or to take off), and anheben (to raise slightly). Example sentences: Ich hebe den Stein hoch. Er hob den Arm. Ich habe das Buch aufgehoben.

Usage: Heben covers literal lifting, such as moving heavy objects, but also figurative raises, like Stimmungen oder Erwartungen heben. In specialized contexts, related nouns exist: das Heben (the act of lifting) and Hebung (uplift or rise, e.g., geologische Hebung; price Hebung in economic contexts). The term is common in daily language as well as technical discourse.