seit

Seit is a German word that functions as a temporal preposition and as a conjunction. It expresses the starting point of a time period and the duration that extends to the present. In standard usage it translates to “since” or “for” in English, depending on the context.

As a preposition, seit governs the dative case. It is used with time expressions to indicate duration up to now. Examples include: Ich arbeite seit drei Jahren hier. Seit dem Unfall ist er vorsichtiger. In both cases the following nouns are in the dative: drei Jahren (dative plural) and dem Unfall (dative singular).

As a conjunction, seit introduces a clause that describes a time from the past continuing into the present. In this use, the dependent clause is ordered with the verb at the end: Seit ich hier wohne, kenne ich viele Leute. Seit er krank ist, arbeitet er weniger. The conjunction helps express ongoing situations from a point in the past.

Usage notes and related forms: Seit contrasts with ab, which marks a point in time starting in the future or at a future moment. Wenn the reference point is explicit or already established, speakers may also use seitdem, meaning “since then,” as a shorter, stand-alone temporal connector. Seit is common in both spoken and written German and appears in a wide range of contexts, from personal timelines to historical summaries.

Origin and overview: Seit originates in the German language and has cognates across West Germanic languages. It remains one of the core markers for time duration and continuity in modern German.