stehen and liegen are German verbs that express opposite states of being or positioning, essential for describing locations and situations.

stehen – to stand (used for things/persons in an upright/vertical position; also for things arranged in a certain way)
liegen – to lie (used for things/persons in a horizontal position; also for how something is situated or located)

Verb	Meaning	Position Described	Typical Subjects
stehen	to stand	Vertical	People, objects, signs
liegen	to lie, to be situated	Horizontal	People, objects, places

Both are stative verbs—they describe states, not actions.
Use them when giving or understanding directions, describing scenes, or talking about where things "are".

stehen

stehen describes something that is physically standing or positioned upright.

stehen: core info

Meaning: to stand, be upright, be positioned (in an upright/vertical manner)
Verb type: Regular (in present tense: ich stehe, du stehst, er/sie/es steht, wir stehen, ihr steht, sie/Sie stehen)
Usage: for things/people in vertical position or when something "stands" as info (e.g., on a sign, in a text)

When do you use 'stehen' in German?

For traveling

For things lying down

For things that are positioned upright

For people or objects 'standing'

Use 'stehen' for things or people in an upright/vertical position.

Not for actions of standing (stehen describes the state, not the act of getting up).
Common with both literal and some figurative uses (e.g., information on a sign: „Hier steht...“).

stehen in context:

Subject	Example (German)	Translation	Comment
Person/object	Die Lampe steht im Zimmer.	The lamp stands in the room.	Lamp is positioned upright.
Text/Information	Hier steht, dass Rauchen verboten ist.	Here it says that smoking is forbidden.	Info "stands" (is written).

Which subjects are commonly used with 'stehen'?

Lamps

Fish in an aquarium (if lying down)

Books on a shelf (if lying down)

People

Signs

'Stehen' is used for upright subjects like lamps, people, and signs.

liegen

liegen is used when something is lying down or situated horizontally.

liegen: core info

Meaning: to lie (down), to be situated, to be located
Verb type: Regular (in present tense: ich liege, du liegst, er/sie/es liegt, wir liegen, ihr liegt, sie/Sie liegen)
Usage: for things/people in horizontal position OR for things situated/located somewhere

When do you use 'liegen' in German?

To activate something

For things arranged vertically

When something is lying down

To describe where something is located

Use 'liegen' when something is lying down or to describe where something is located.

Not used for objects in an upright position.
Common for beds, books, people resting, or general localization of places/things.

liegen in context:

Subject	Example (German)	Translation	Comment
Person/object	Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch.	The book lies on the table.	Book is in a horizontal position or placed flat.
Place/Region	Berlin liegt in Deutschland.	Berlin lies in Germany.	Used to describe location/situation of places.

Which situations call for 'liegen'?

A book on a table

A lamp on a stand

A sign with information

A person resting

A city’s location on a map

'Liegen' is used for things lying down or for locations like a city's position.

stehen vs liegen: examples

Situation	stehen (German)	liegen (German)	Translation
A lamp in the room	Die Lampe steht im Zimmer.	[Wrong]	The lamp is standing.
A book on the table	[Wrong]	Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch.	The book is lying down.
A city on the map	[Wrong]	Die Stadt liegt auf der Karte.	The city lies on the map.
Information on a board	Die Information steht auf der Tafel.	[Wrong]	The information is written (stands) on the board.

A1/A2 Info

*stehen and liegen* are classic positional/stative verbs taught at A1 and A2 levels.
Mastery of these verbs helps avoid confusion in describing locations or situations.
Their opposite meanings (vertical vs. horizontal) are a key grammatical concept in early German learning.

Conclusion

stehen and liegen are essential positional verbs in German, describing vertical and horizontal states, respectively.

stehen → things/people in an upright/vertical position; also used for information “standing” in texts/signs.
liegen → things/people lying down or placed horizontally; also for locations/situations of places.
Using them correctly helps you accurately describe where and how things are positioned around you.

German