scheinen

seem

verb SHY-nen Less Common

Also means

shine

Usage Note

scheinen carries two senses: 'to shine' (die Sonne scheint) and 'to seem', where it pairs with zu plus an infinitive (er scheint zu schlafen, 'he seems to be sleeping'). It is irregular: past schien, perfect geschienen.

Examples

"Die Sonne scheint heute hell."

Natural Translation

The sun is shining brightly today.

Literal Translation

The sun shines today bright.

Free starter pack

Building your German vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common German words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Related Words

Explore German by topic

GermanNow

German Greetings by Region: Grüß Gott to Grüezi

German greetings change by region: say Moin in Hamburg, Grüß Gott in Bavaria, Grüezi in Switzerland. A map of every hello and goodbye, plus du vs. Sie.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

Wo, Wohin, Woher: Three Ways to Say Where

German splits where into three: wo (location), wohin (destination), and woher (origin). Learn the wo vs wohin rule, the hin/her logic, and common mistakes.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

German Body Parts: Vocabulary + How to Say It Hurts

Learn German body parts with der/die/das and plurals, plus the two ways to say something hurts: Mir tut der Kopf weh and Ich habe Kopfschmerzen.

June 9, 2026 5 min read

GermanNow

German Modal Verbs: Können, Müssen, Wollen and More

German modal verbs put the modal in position 2 and the real verb at the end. Master können, müssen, wollen and the rest with charts and clear examples.

June 5, 2026 5 min read