wundern

Wundern is a German verb meaning to astonish, surprise, or marvel. It can be used transitively, as in etwas wundert jemanden (something astonishes someone), or reflexively as sich wundern (to be surprised). The reflexive form is common in everyday speech, for example Ich wundere mich über das Ergebnis.

With the preposition über, Wundern expresses surprise about a matter, as in Ich wundere mich über die Entscheidung. The verb can also appear in clauses without a preposition when the object is simple, as in Das wundert mich.

Conjugation is regular in the present and past tenses. In present indicative: ich wundere, du wunderst, er wundert, wir wundern, ihr wundert, sie wundern. Präteritum (simple past): ich wunderte, du wundertest, er wunderte, wir wunderten, ihr wundertet, sie wunderten. The perfect tense is formed with haben or, when reflexive, sich gewundert: Ich habe mich gewundert (I have wondered/surprised myself). For passive or ongoing emphasis, the phrase Es wundert mich is a common idiom.

Etymology: Wundern derives from the noun Wunder (wonder, miracle) in German, sharing a common Germanic root related to astonishment. The sense evolved from causing surprise to the broader act of being surprised or marveling.

See also: Wunder (noun) and sich wundern. Wundern is primarily used in standard German and appears in literary and colloquial contexts to express surprise or astonishment.