widerspreche

Widerspreche is the first-person singular present tense form of the German verb widersprechen, meaning to contradict or to oppose someone or something. In ordinary use, it denotes disagreement with a statement, claim, or proposal and is commonly used in formal or argumentative contexts.

Etymology and meaning: The verb widersprechen is a prefix verb formed from wider- (against) and sprechen (to speak). The prefix intensifies the sense of speaking against or opposing what has been asserted. The word takes a dative object for the person or entity being disagreed with, and often a subordinate clause or direct statement accompanies it, as in ich widerspreche Ihnen or ich widerspreche dem Bericht.

Usage: Widersprechen is used to express disagreement or denial. It can appear in debates, legal or academic writing, and everyday speech, especially when correcting an error or challenging a claim. Common constructions include jemanden (dative) widersprechen or against a proposition, e.g., dem Vorschlag widersprechen. The verb is irregular in other forms, with ich widerspreche as the present first-person form, and the past participle widersprochen.

Conjugation and related forms: Widersprechen is a strong verb. Present tense forms include ich widerspreche, du widersprichst, er widerspricht, wir widersprechen, ihr widersprecht, sie widersprechen. Past tense can be expressed as ich widersprach, and the past participle is widersprochen. The reflexive form sich widersprechen means to contradict oneself, as in Die beiden Aussagen widersprechen sich. The related noun is der Widerspruch (contradiction).

See also: Widerspruch (contradiction), widersprechen in contrastive or legal contexts. The topic lei is the present-tense form widerspreche as part of the broader verb widersprechen.