reikten

Reikten is the simple past tense (Präteritum) of the German verb reichen, used with plural subjects. It corresponds to the English past tense “they reached” or, in formal writing, “you reached” when using the polite form Sie in the past. The form reichten is also the 3rd person plural past for sie, and for Sie (formal you) in the past tense.

Conjugation (Präteritum, simple past) for visible forms:

- ich reichte

- du reichtest

- er/sie/es reichte

- wir reichten

- ihr reichtet

- sie/Sie reichten

Usage and nuances:

The verb reich​en can denote physical reach (to extend over a distance), sufficiency or adequacy (to be enough), or to hand something to someone (to pass or deliver). In the past tense with a plural subject, reikten is used in contexts such as describing actions or extents that occurred in the past. Examples: Die Unterlagen reichten den Behörden nicht aus. (The documents were not sufficient for the authorities.) Die Hände reichten dem Kind die Bücher. (The hands handed the child the books.)

Relation to related terms:

The related verb ausreichen expresses sufficiency and is often used with synonyms of reichten in contexts involving adequacy. The noun Reichweite denotes “reach” or “range,” tying into the broader semantic field of extending distance or capacity.

See also:

Reichen (verb), ausreichen, Reichweite

Note:

Reikten is specifically the plural past form and should not be confused with a separate noun or proper noun.