helfe

Helfe is the first-person singular present tense form of the German verb helfen, meaning "to help." In modern German, ich helfe is used when the subject is the speaker, and it takes a dative object to indicate the recipient of the help, as in Ich helfe dir. The verb helfen is irregular in other forms, with other persons showing stem changes (for example, du hilfst, er hilft).

Etymology and cognates: The verb helfen comes from a long Germanic lineage and is cognate with Dutch helpen and English help. Its basic meaning and usage have been preserved across West Germanic languages for centuries, though each language develops its own set of inflections.

Usage and semantic range: Helfen is used to express assistance in tasks ranging from everyday chores to moral or moral-support kinds of aid. It often appears with indirect objects in the dative case (jemandem helfen). Common contexts include helping someone with an activity, offering support in a difficult situation, or providing guidance.

Related forms and nouns: The root also yields the noun Hilfe, meaning "help" or "assistance," and is a common term in everyday language, public discourse, and literature. The verb’s other conjugated forms, such as hilfst, hilft, helfen, helfen, are used to align with different subjects and tenses.

In summary, helfe is a fundamental present-tense form of helfen, central to expressing assistance in German, with a well-established set of cognates and related noun forms.