{"id":369,"date":"2026-10-29T07:46:36","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T07:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siplingo.com\/blog\/?p=369"},"modified":"2026-10-31T09:09:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:09:39","slug":"lassen-german-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siplingo.com\/blog\/lassen-german-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Lassen in German: Meaning, Conjugation and How to Use It"},"content":{"rendered":"

The lassen German meaning depends on the sentence: lassen<\/em> means “to let\/allow” (Lass mich schlafen<\/em>), “to leave” something somewhere (Ich lasse das Handy zu Hause<\/em>), “to have something done” (Ich lasse mein Auto reparieren<\/em>), “to stop” (Lass das!<\/em>), “let’s” (Lass uns gehen<\/em>) and, with sich<\/em>, “can be done” (Das l\u00e4sst sich \u00e4ndern<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n

Six jobs for one verb is why lassen<\/em> confuses learners at A2 and B1. The good news: once you know three irregular spots (du l\u00e4sst<\/em>, er l\u00e4sst<\/em>, lie\u00df<\/em>), most sentences follow the same pattern as the modal verbs.<\/p>\n\n\n

Lassen German meaning: the 6 uses at a glance<\/h2>\n\n\n
Meaning<\/th>Structure<\/th>Example<\/th>Translation<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
1. let, allow<\/td>lassen + person + infinitive<\/td>Lass mich schlafen.<\/em><\/td>Let me sleep.<\/td><\/tr>
2. leave (somewhere, as it is)<\/td>lassen + thing + place<\/td>Ich lasse das Handy zu Hause.<\/em><\/td>I leave my phone at home.<\/td><\/tr>
3. have something done<\/td>lassen + thing + infinitive<\/td>Ich lasse mein Auto reparieren.<\/em><\/td>I’m having my car repaired.<\/td><\/tr>
4. stop, not do<\/td>lassen + thing (no infinitive)<\/td>Lass das!<\/em><\/td>Stop that!<\/td><\/tr>
5. suggestion “let’s”<\/td>Lass uns \/ Lasst uns \/ Lassen Sie uns + infinitive<\/td>Lass uns anfangen.<\/em><\/td>Let’s start.<\/td><\/tr>
6. can be done<\/td>sich lassen + infinitive<\/td>Das Fenster l\u00e4sst sich nicht \u00f6ffnen.<\/em><\/td>The window won’t open \/ can’t be opened.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n

The fastest way to tell them apart: look for an infinitive at the end. No infinitive usually means “leave” or “stop”. An infinitive at the end means “let”, “have done”, “let’s” or “can be done”, and the context (person or thing, sich<\/em> or not) decides which.<\/p>\n\n\n

Conjugation of lassen<\/h2>\n\n\n

Lassen<\/em> is a strong verb with a vowel change in the du<\/em> and er\/sie\/es<\/em> forms of the present tense, like fahren<\/em> (du f\u00e4hrst<\/em>). Note the spelling: l\u00e4sst<\/em> with ss<\/em> (short vowel), but lie\u00df<\/em> with \u00df<\/em> (long vowel).<\/p>\n\n\n

Person<\/th>Pr\u00e4sens<\/th>Pr\u00e4teritum<\/th>Konjunktiv II<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
ich<\/td>lasse<\/td>lie\u00df<\/td>lie\u00dfe<\/td><\/tr>
du<\/td>l\u00e4sst<\/td>lie\u00dfest \/ lie\u00dft<\/td>lie\u00dfest<\/td><\/tr>
er \/ sie \/ es<\/td>l\u00e4sst<\/td>lie\u00df<\/td>lie\u00dfe<\/td><\/tr>
wir<\/td>lassen<\/td>lie\u00dfen<\/td>lie\u00dfen<\/td><\/tr>
ihr<\/td>lasst<\/td>lie\u00dft<\/td>lie\u00dfet<\/td><\/tr>
sie \/ Sie<\/td>lassen<\/td>lie\u00dfen<\/td>lie\u00dfen<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n