German Low German

Verb

gahn ‎(past singular güng, past participle gahn or gangen, auxiliary verb wesen)

1. (intransitive) to go
2. (intransitive) to walk
3. (transitive) to walk (some distance); to go (usually) by foot
4. (intransitive) to leave

   Ik gah nu.‎ ― I'm leaving now.

5. (intransitive) To lead (in a direction).

   Dehierste Weg geiht richt na Bassum.‎ ― This road goes all the way to Bassum.

6. (intransitive) To proceed (well or poorly).

   Dat is goot gahn.‎ ― That went well.

7. (impersonal, intransitive) to be going; to be alright; indicates how the oblique object fares

   Woans geiht dat di?‎ ― How are you doing?

   Mi geiht dat goot.‎ ― I’m doing well. (Literally, “It goes well for me.”)

   Dat geiht.‎ ― It’s alright.

8. (auxiliary) Used to form the future tense of a verb, together with an infinitive.

   Dat geiht doch nich warken.‎ ― It will not work anyway.

   Note: schölen and wüllen are used more often for the future tense, instead of gahn.

9. (auxiliary) To start to, begin to, to be going to

   De Sünn geiht wedder schienen.‎ ― The sun is starting to shine again.

   Ik gah slapen.‎ ― I'm going to sleep.

   Dat geiht so regen.‎ ― It's going to start raining soon.

10. (colloquial, intransitive) to be possible

    Dat mag villicht gahn.‎ ― That might be possible.

11. (colloquial, intransitive) to work, to function (the verb warken is also used in that context)

    De Koffeeautomaat geiht nich.‎ ― The coffee dispenser doesn't work.

12. (colloquial, intransitive) to be in progress; to last

    De Sitten geiht bet Klock een.‎ ― The session is scheduled until one o'clock.

13. (impersonal, intransitive, with “op” followed by a time) to approach; to be going (on some one)

    Dat geiht op Klock 8.‎ ― It’s going on 8 o’clock.

Usage notes

Unlike English to go, Low German gahn does not mean "to travel somewhere" in general. A distinction must be made between gahn (walk), fohren (go by bike, car, train, or ship), and flegen (go by plane). If used with a place one cannot or would not commonly walk to, gahn often imples that one intends to stay there for a long time, e.g.: Ik gah na New York. – I'm going to live in New York.

Conjugation