# das Leben

das Leben is a German noun meaning “life”. Forms: des Lebens, die Leben.

## Forms

- Genitive: des Lebens
- Plural: die Leben

## In other languages

- Русский: жизнь, существование
- Українська: життя

## Meanings

1. _uncountable_ a state in which organic entities such as animals, plants and bacteria have properties like metabolism, adaptation and replication
   - Das Leben ist nicht an das geistige Bewusstsein gebunden. — Life is not dependent on mental consciousness.
2. _uncountable_ the entirety of those who are in this state
   - Die Erde quillt über vor Leben. — Earth is full of life.
3. _countable_ the time period in which one is in this state; the time between birth and death
   - Das Leben beginnt mit der Geburt und endet mit dem Tod. — Life begins with birth and ends with death.
4. _uncountable_ a state of being in touch or in line with certain metaphysical forces and principles by which biological life is governed
   - Nicht jeder, der atmet, ist auch wirklich am Leben. — Not everyone who breathes is really alive.
5. _countable_ life; way of life (a particular manner of behaving and passing one’s time, whether real or ideal, and whether self-chosen or not)
   - Lebensstandard — quality of life
6. _countable_ biography; life; life story (an account of a person’s life, whether real or virtual)
   - Das Leben der Edelgard. — The life of Edelgard.
7. _uncountable_ existence; life (a position one has created for oneself, often manifested in success, prosperity, and standing)
   - Frau Schmidt hat sich in all diesen Jahren ein bewundernswertes Leben aufgebaut. — Mrs Schmidt has built up an admirable life in all these years.
8. _uncountable_ life; precious or beloved thing that someone considers fundamental to their existence
   - Sie ist mein Ein und Alles, mein Leben! — She is my one and only, my life!
9. _countable_ life; numbers of times a game can be played
   - Du hast nur noch drei Leben übrig. — You only have three lives left.
10. _countable_ health; hit points
11. used as the object of certain verbs, often ones that are per se intransitive, for emphasis
   - Chill ma’ dein Leben! — Just chill, okay!

## Examples

- Es gibt kein Leben auf dem Mond. — There's no life on the moon.
- Auf dem Mars gibt es kein Leben. — Mars doesn't have life.
- Tom kam bei dem Unfall ums Leben. — Tom died in the accident.
- Ich kann so ein Leben nicht leben. — I can't live that kind of life.
- Das Leben hat seine Höhen und Tiefen. — A man's life has its ups and downs.

## Related words

- Antonym: Tod

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Sources: Meanings and forms from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR).
URL: https://wordwide.space/de-en/wort/Leben