dienen

Dienen is a German verb meaning to serve or to be of use. The core sense is to perform acts of service for a person, group, institution, or country, or to be useful in a particular role. It can express personal loyalty and duty, as in serving a king or the state, or functional usefulness, as an object that serves a purpose. Common constructions include dem König oder dem Volk dienen and als Lehrer dienen, or als Ersatz dienen.

Grammatical notes: Dienen is a weak verb. Present tense forms are ich diene, du dienst, er dient, wir dienen, ihr dient, sie dienen. Präteritum forms are ich diente, du dientest, er diente, wir dienten, ihr dientet, sie dienten. The past participle is gedient, and the perfect tense is formed with hat gedient. The verb typically governs a dative object when indicating whom one serves: ich diene dem König or ich diene dem Volk. It can also take als to express function: ich diene als Lehrer.

Usage and nuance: In formal or historical language, dienen carries connotations of loyalty, duty, or official service, such as military or civil service. The related noun Dienst means service or duty, and dienlich means useful or serviceable. Expressions such as das dient der Sicherheit mean “that serves/ contributes to security.” Etymology: the verb is native to German and has cognates in other West Germanic languages, notably Dutch dienen, reflecting a shared Germanic heritage.

Overall, dienen covers both personal service and instrumental utility, with usage spanning everyday contexts to formal, state, or institutional settings.