gestehen

Gestehen is a German verb meaning to confess or admit, especially to acknowledge a fact or wrongdoing. It is used when someone acknowledges something openly, either to another person or in a formal setting. Common constructions include jenesedeppes: jemanden etwas gestehen (to confess something to someone) or sich etwas gestehen (to admit something to oneself or to others). Examples: Der Angeklagte gestand die Tat. Sie gestand sich ihre Fehler ein.

In legal and formal contexts, the noun Geständnis (confession) is the standard term for the act of confessing. The form das Gestehen is rare and largely literary or archaic; for most purposes, Geständnis is used to name the act itself. Synonyms in everyday language include zugeben, bekennen, eingestehen.

Conjugation and usage notes: Gestehen is an irregular verb. Present tense forms include ich gestehe, du gestehst, er gesteht, wir gestehen, ihr gesteht, sie gestehen. The perfect tense is typically formed with haben: ich habe gestanden (I have confessed). The simple past (Präteritum) is gestand (ich gestand). The verb can be used transitively with an object (etwas gestehen) or reflexively in sense of admitting to one’s own attributes or faults (sich etwas gestehen).

Etymology: The verb is old in German and has given rise to the noun Geständnis in its standard form. It is closely related to other verbs in the same semantic field such as zugeben and bekennen.

See also: Geständnis, Zugeben, bekennen, zugeben.