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What does "seit" mean in German?

Asked by Anonymous Oct 02, 2026 2 views 1 answers
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Answered Oct 06, 2026
The German word "seit" is a very important preposition and conjunction that deals with time, and it generally translates to "since" or "for" in English when talking about a period that started in the past and continues to the present. This confuses English learners because English uses "for" for duration and "since" for a starting point, while German uses "seit" for both. For example, "Ich wohne seit 2020 in Berlin" means "I have been living in Berlin since 2020." And "Ich wohne seit drei Jahren in Berlin" means "I have been living in Berlin for three years." In both cases you use "seit." The key grammatical rule is that "seit" always takes the dative case and when used as a preposition for time, the verb is in the present tense in German even though English uses present perfect. Another example is "Seit wann lernst du Deutsch?" meaning "Since when have you been learning German?" As a conjunction, "seit" can start a subordinate clause, as in "Seit ich in Deutschland bin, spreche ich besser Deutsch" meaning "Since I have been in Germany, I speak German better." It is always about something that started earlier and is still relevant now, not a finished past action.
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