in den Sternen stehen

German

Etymology

Literally, "to be written in the stars".

Pronunciation

  • (file)

Verb

in den Sternen stehen (irregular strong, third-person singular present steht in den Sternen, past tense stand in den Sternen, past participle in den Sternen gestanden, past subjunctive stände in den Sternen or stünde in den Sternen, auxiliary haben or sein)

  1. to be in the stars, in store, preordained; to happen in the future
    Ich würde gern mal wissen, was für uns beide in den Sternen steht.
    I’d like to know what’s in the stars for the two of us.
  2. to be uncertain, unpredictable
    Was nach dem Tod meines Vaters mit der Firma passiert, steht noch völlig in den Sternen.
    What will become of the company after my father’s death is still entirely unpredictable.

Usage notes

  • The second sense is by far the commoner of the two.
  • Only the auxiliary haben is used in northern and central Germany. In southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, sein is common in the vernacular and also, alternatively, in standard usage.

Conjugation

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