gehe

Gehe is a German verb form derived from gehen, meaning “to go.” It is most commonly encountered as the first-person singular present tense: ich gehe, meaning “I go” or “I am going.” The form also appears in certain grammatical contexts, such as the Konjunktiv I in indirect speech, where er gehe can appear in reported statements like “Sie sagt, er gehe morgen” (she says that he is going tomorrow). The imperative form used in direct commands is Geh! (informal singular), not Gehe.

Conjugation and related forms: The present tense full paradigm is ich gehe, du gehst, er geht, wir gehen, ihr geht, sie gehen. The simple past (preterite) is ging, and the past participle is gegangen, with the auxiliary ich bin gegangen in the perfect. The present participle is gehend. The verb belongs to a class of German strong verbs in its past tense stem change (geht → ging) and its past participle prefix geg-.

Etymology and cognates: gehen descends from a Proto-Germanic root related to the idea of moving or leaving. Cognates appear in related Germanic languages, such as Dutch gaan and Swedish gå, reflecting a common East and West Germanic heritage of movement-related verbs.

Usage notes: Gehen is a core verb of movement and is highly frequent in everyday German. It appears in countless idiomatic expressions and set phrases, such as Es geht (it goes / it’s going), Gehen wir! (let’s go), and Wir gehen jetzt ins Kino (we’re going to the cinema now). Its versatility makes it essential for basic communication about travel, direction, and activity.