spielt

Spielt is the third-person singular present tense form of the German verb spielen, meaning to play. It is used with he, she, or it, as in Er spielt Fußball or Sie spielt Geige.

The verb spielen covers a range of meanings related to playing: engaging in a game or sport, performing on an instrument, or acting in a role. It also occurs in idiomatic expressions, such as eine Rolle spielen (to play a role) or mitspielen (to play along).

Present-tense conjugation (normal indicative): ich spiele, du spielst, er/sie/es spielt, wir spielen, ihr spielt, sie/Sie spielen. Other basic forms include the simple past (ich spielte) and the perfect tense (ich habe gespielt).

Etymology and related forms: spielen derives from Middle High German spilen and Old High German spîlôn, with cognates in Dutch (spelen) and English (spiel, in its sense of a varying performance or sales pitch). The root imagery centers on making a movement or performing an action.

Usage notes: In German, spielen is a versatile verb used for physical play, sports, musical performance, and theatrical or figurative contexts. It often appears in common phrases such as Wer spielt heute? (Who is playing today?) or Es spielt keine Rolle (It makes no difference).

See also: spielen, Glossen on conjugation patterns, and idioms built from spielen.