versteht

Versteht is the third-person singular present tense form of the German verb verstehen, meaning to understand. It is used with a third-person subject such as er, sie, or es, as in Er versteht die Frage.

In present tense conjugation, verstehen follows a regular pattern with the stem versteh-: ich verstehe, du verstehst, er versteht, wir verstehen, ihr versteht, sie/Sie verstehen. Verstehen is an inseparable-prefix verb, so the prefix ver- remains attached to the stem in all tenses.

Verstehen is used transitively, typically with a direct object in the accusative case. For example, Er versteht die Aufgabe (He understands the task). It can also introduce a subordinate clause to indicate comprehension of a situation: Ich verstehe, dass du müde bist (I understand that you are tired). The form versteht specifically refers to a singular third-person subject in the present.

For additional forms, the past tense includes das Perfekt: er hat verstanden (he has understood), and the simple past (Präteritum): er verstand. The future is formed with wird + verstehen: er wird verstehen. The verb can also appear in the present subjunctive for hypothetical understanding: er verstehe.

The noun form Verstehen, capitalized, means comprehension or understanding in a general or philosophical sense. It is used in phrases such as das Verstehen anderer Kulturen or das tiefere Verstehen eines Problems. Verstehen is a common, essential verb in German, frequently encountered in everyday speech and written text.