verb
to belong to, to be owned by
A1
Gehören: means 'to belong to' or 'to be owned by'. It normally takes the dative (Das Buch gehört mir) and can appear with 'zu' to mean membership (er gehört zur Gruppe). Regular weak verb, uses haben in perfect (hat gehört), non‑reflexive.
Examples
Das hat mir gehört.
That belonged to me.
Das Haus gehört einer älteren Familie.
The house is owned by an older family.
Das Buch gehört mir.
The book belongs to me.
Details
Mnemonics
Picture a name tag stuck on an object (like 'Property of Anna') — that tag shows the object belongs to someone.
Sounds a bit like 'go-hair-en' — imagine something 'going' to someone's 'hair' to remember possession.
Notes
Gehören takes a dative object (e.g., 'das Buch gehört mir'). It is an intransitive verb meaning 'to belong' or 'to be someone's property.' Passive forms are rarely used with gehören because it doesn't take a direct object in the way that allows natural passivisation. | Intransitive verb; passive voice conjugation blocks are not applicable.