passen

Passen is a German verb with several related meanings centered on fit, suitability, and agreement. In everyday use it describes whether something fits in size or shape, as in Die Hose passt. The impersonal form Es passt is also common to indicate that something is suitable or acceptable in general.

With a person or body part as the recipient, the subject is usually the item and the beneficiary is in the dative: Die Schuhe passen mir. Here the item is described as fitting the person, often with adjectives such as gut or schlecht to express how well it fits. The sense of fit can also refer to size or proportion, as in Die Größe passt.

Passen is also used to express compatibility between two things with the preposition zu: Das Hemd passt zu der Hose. Das passt gut zu deinem Plan. This construction means that one item goes well with another or matches a particular context or style.

Besides the basic sense, there are related forms. Aufpassen (separable) means to pay attention or to watch out, as in Pass bitte auf oder Pass auf die Kinder auf. Anpassen (separable) means to adjust or adapt something to fit a requirement or situation, for example Das Unternehmen muss sich an die neuen Regeln anpassen.

Conjugation (present): ich passe, du passt, er/sie/es passt, wir passen, ihr passt, sie/Sie passen. Perfect: ich habe gepasst. The verb exists in imperative forms as well, for formal address: Passen Sie auf! and for informal use: Passe auf! In use, passen is versatile for clothing, suitability, and compatibility contexts, with related extensions in everyday German.