Heißt

Heißt is the third-person singular present tense form of the German verb heißen, which means to be named or to mean. In use, it can describe a person’s name or the name of a thing, for example: Er heißt Anna (His name is Anna) or Das Auto heißt VW Golf (The car is called VW Golf). The same verb also appears in the common phrase das heißt, meaning that or that is to say.

Conjugation and key forms: The infinitive is heißen. Present tense forms are ich heiße, du heißt, er/sie/es heißt, wir heißen, ihr heißt, sie/Sie heißen. The simple past (Präteritum) forms are ich hieß, du hießt, er hieß, wir hießen, ihr hießt, sie hießen. The past participle is geheißen, and with haben you form the present perfect: ich habe geheißen. The verb also has a subjunctive (Konjunktiv) form hieße, used in hypothetical statements, e.g., Wenn ich hieße...

Usage notes: Besides naming a person or thing, heißen is widely used in phrases that express meaning or definition, notably das heißt, which translates to that means or i.e. The verb is common in everyday conversation, in naming introductions, descriptions, and explanations. It is a regular part of basic German grammar but shows a stem vowel change in the past tense (heiβ- vs hieß-).

Etymology and related forms: heißen stems from the Germanic family and has cognates in other Germanic languages, such as Dutchheten (to be called) and Swedish heta (to be called). The standard spelling uses the letter ß after long vowels or diphthongs (heißen); in some variants and countries, the ß is written as ss.