zähle

Zähle is the first-person singular present tense form of the German verb zählen, meaning to count, number, or enumerate. It is also the identical spelling for the informal second-person singular imperative, Zähle!, which means “Count!” in commands or suggestions. In everyday language, zähle is used when indicating the act of counting objects, listing items, or determining quantities. For example: Ich zähle die Äpfel; Zähle bitte bis zehn.

Grammatical overview: The verb zählen follows regular German conjugation patterns in the present tense: ich zähle, du zählst, er zählt, wir zählen, ihr zählt, sie zählen. The simple past is zählte (ich zählte, du zähltest, etc.), and the perfect tense uses ge- plus gezählt with haben: ich habe gezählt. The imperative forms are Zähle! (du) and Zählt! (ihr). The participle present is zählend, and the past participle is gezählt.

Related forms and meanings: Nouns derived from counting include die Zahl (the number), die Zählung (the counting/enumeration), and der Zähler (the counter). Figuratively, zählen can appear in phrases like Das zählt, meaning “that matters” or “that counts,” and sich zählen zu etwas, meaning “to belong to something” or “to be counted among.”

Etymology and usage: Zählen comes from the Germanic core concept of counting and numbering, with cognates in related West Germanic languages (for example, Dutch tellen). The word is a core term in mathematics, statistics, and everyday arithmetic, as well as in idiomatic expressions about importance and belonging.