nützen

Nützen is a German verb meaning to be of use, to profit, or to avail oneself of something. It is closely related to nutzen, but in contemporary standard German it is less common and often regarded as formal, archaic, or regional. The word typically appears in fixed expressions such as Es nützt nichts (it is of no use) and in constructions where the action benefits someone, as in das nützt mir (that helps me).

Conjugation and usage: In the present tense the verb follows the pattern of weak German verbs: ich nütze, du nützt, er nützt, wir nützen, ihr nützt, sie nützen. It commonly takes a dative object to indicate who benefits, for example: Dieser Rat nützt mir. In sentences with Es as the subject, you frequently see Es nützt nichts.

Etymology and status: Nützen is etymologically related to nutzen (to use) and traces back to older Germanic roots tied to usefulness. In many contexts, nützen is considered literary, formal, or regional, and speakers often prefer nutzen for everyday use. Nevertheless, nützen survives in standard texts and fixed phrases, and remains more common in some southern German-speaking areas or in traditional wording.

Past tenses: When used, the perfect is typically formed with hat genützt or, in some varieties, hat genutzt, while the simple past (nützte) is rare in everyday speech. The choice between genützt and genutzt reflects regional and stylistic variation rather than a strict rule.

See also: nutzen, German verbs of usefulness, fixed expressions.