zustehen

Zustehen is a German verb that expresses that something is due to or rightfully owed to someone. It denotes an entitlement, a claim, or a privilege that belongs to a person or group, either legally, contractually, or morally. The sense encompasses rights such as monetary compensation, privileges, or opportunities that are considered due to the recipient.

In typical usage, the construction is etwas steht jdm zu, meaning that a thing is due to or warranted for someone. The recipient is usually in the dative, and the thing to which the entitlement refers appears as the object of the sentence, for example: Dir steht eine Gehaltserhöhung zu, Der Verein steht dem Spieler eine Prämie zu. The phrase can also refer more generally to a right, such as: Dieses Recht steht dir zu.

Zustehen is commonly used in legal, administrative, and everyday language. It is closely related to synonyms and related concepts such as Anspruch, berechtigt sein, and einen Anspruch haben. The scope ranges from formal entitlements defined by contracts or statutes to everyday judgments about what is fair or appropriate.

Negation is straightforward: Das steht dir nicht zu or Das steht dem Angeklagten nicht zu, indicating that a person does not have the corresponding right or claim. In tense variation, forms differ (Es steht dir zu; Es stand dir zu; Es hat dir zugestanden), depending on the grammatical context, though many speakers use the present and past forms that align with the sentence’s time frame.

In summary, zustehen denotes a rightful claim or entitlement, frequently used to describe what a person or group is legally or morally owed.