verb
to suffer, to endure
B1
leiden: verb meaning 'to suffer' or 'to endure'. Auxiliary: haben. Strong/irregular: Präteritum litt, Partizip II gelitten. Non‑reflexive. Used for physical or emotional suffering or to endure conditions. Present: ich leide; Perfekt: habe gelitten. Often used with 'an' (illness) or 'unter' (circumstances).
Examples
Die Mannschaft musste lange leiden, bevor sie endlich gewann.
The team had to endure a long time before they finally won.
Er litt unter der Hitze.
He suffered from the heat.
Viele Menschen leiden unter Schlafmangel.
Many people suffer from lack of sleep.
Details
Mnemonics
Picture someone saying 'lay down' when they suffer; that helps recall 'leiden'.
sounds like 'lay-den' — imagine someone laying down in pain
Notes
leiden is often used with prepositions: 'leiden an' (suffer from a disease) and 'leiden unter' (suffer because of external conditions). It is intransitive in most uses; personal passive is generally not used and passive conjugation cells are therefore omitted in this entry. | Intransitive verb; passive forms are not applicable.