fehlen

Fehlen is a German verb meaning to be missing or to lack. It can describe something that is not present, or a deficiency in a person or thing. There are two common patterns: an impersonal construction with es + fehlen, which expresses a general absence (often followed by an “an” phrase); and a construction with a dative experiencer (mir, dir, ihm), where the thing lacking is the subject, as in Mir fehlen zwei Seiten or Es fehlt mir an Mut. The verb can also refer to a person being absent, as in Der Lehrer fehlt heute.

Grammatical use and examples: In the dative pattern the experiencer (dative) is affected, while the missing item is treated as the subject. Present tense forms are fehle, fehlst, fehlt, fehlen, fehlt, fehlen for ich, du, er/sie/es, wir, ihr, sie. The preterite is fehlte, fehltest, fehlte, fehlten, fehltet, fehlten, and the past participle is gefehlt. The impersonal construction uses es as a dummy subject: Es fehlt mir an Geld; Es fehlen zwei Seiten im Buch. The subjunctive forms (Konjunktiv I/II) exist but are uncommon in everyday speech.

Usage notes and related terms: Fehlen often contrasts with causing deficiency by stating what is lacking (an + Dativ). Synonyms include mangeln or fehlen in similar senses, while ausfallen may describe something that did not occur. Adjective form fehlend means lacking, and compounds like fehlend-on or fehlende Teile are used in technical or formal contexts. Fehlen is a core verb for describing absence, deficiency, or nonattendance in German.