warten

Warten is a German verb meaning to wait or to stay in expectation until something happens. It describes a pause or delay and is used in everyday speech, travel, appointments, and service contexts. The verb is typically intransitive and is most often combined with the preposition auf to show what is being waited for, as in ich warte auf dich or wir warten auf den Bus.

Conjugation and forms: In the present tense the forms are ich warte, du wartest, er/sie/es wartet, wir warten, ihr wartet, sie warten. The simple past (Präteritum) forms are ich wartete, du wartetest, er wartete, wir warteten, ihr wartetet, sie warteten. The perfect uses haben: ich habe gewartet. The imperative forms are warte (du) and wartet (ihr). German also uses related constructions such as warten auf etwas, meaning to wait for something, and the separable prefix verb abwarten, meaning to wait and see or to defer judgment.

Usage notes and related terms: The preposition auf with the accusative is the standard pattern for specifying what is being waited for. The act of waiting can also be expressed as a noun: das Warten. Related terms include Wartezeit for the length of time spent waiting and Wartezimmer for a waiting room. The phrase jemanden warten lassen means to cause someone else to wait, as in Ich lasse dich warten. Abwarten conveys a more cautious or evaluative sense of waiting, often before making a decision.

In summary, warten centers on anticipation and delay, with common applications across everyday life, transport, and organizational contexts, and it exists in several related forms and compounds in German grammar.