Zeigen

zeigen is a German verb meaning to show, display, indicate, demonstrate, or reveal. It is used transitively with a direct object in the accusative, often with a person as the recipient: Ich zeige dir mein Auto. The indirect object is usually in the dative when naming the person to whom the showing is directed. The verb also appears in idiomatic phrases such as aufzeigen (to point out or illustrate) and sich zeigen (to appear or prove to be). A common construction is Es zeigt sich, dass …, meaning “It shows that …” or “It turns out that …”.

Conjugation and usage: In the present tense, ich zeige, du zeigst, er zeigt, wir zeigen, ihr zeigt, sie zeigen. The simple past (Präteritum) is ich zeigte, du zeigtest, er zeigte, wir zeigten, ihr zeigtet, sie zeigten. The perfect tense is formed with haben: ich habe gezeigt, du hast gezeigt, er hat gezeigt, etc. The participle II is gezeigt. Imperatives are Zeig! (du), Zeigt! (ihr), Zeigen Sie! (Sie). Compound forms exist with prefixes, such as aufzeigen (to illustrate or reveal) and anzeigen (to announce or to file a report in certain contexts).

Etymology and related terms: zeigen originates in Old High German zeigan and is related to other West Germanic languages, including Dutch tonen (to show). It belongs to a core set of German verbs governing visual or demonstrative actions.

See also: show as a general sense; demonstrieren (to demonstrate); darlegen (to present or explain); aufzeigen (to illustrate or reveal); anzeigen (to indicate or to report).

This article provides a concise overview of zeigen’s core meaning, usage, and grammatical behavior in standard German.