bleiben

German

From Middle High German blīben, belīben (“to remain in the same position, pause, blin”), from Old High German bilīban (“to remain”), from Proto-Germanic *bilībaną (“to remain”), from Proto-Indo-European *lip- (“to stick, glue”). Cognate with Dutch blijven (“to remain”), English belive (“to remain, stay”). More at belive.

(intransitive) to remain (to continue to be)
- 1929, Kurt Tucholsky, Das Lächeln der Mona Lisa (Sammelband), Rowohlt Verlag, page 239:
  Um populär zu werden, kann man seine eigene Meinung behalten. Um populär zu bleiben, weniger.
  In order to become popular, one can keep one’s own opinion. In order to stay popular, less so.
Er blieb sein ganzes Leben ein glühender Anhänger der Monarchie.
He remained a devoted supporter of the monarchy for all his life.
(intransitive, + infinitive) to keep (on); to continue (see usage notes below)
Ich bleibe noch ein bisschen liegen.
I'll keep lying here for a bit.
(intransitive) to stay; to remain in a place
Du kannst ja schon fahren, aber ich bleibe noch.
Feel free to leave, but I'm staying some more.
(intransitive) to be; to be stuck; implying tardiness
Wo bleibst du? Wir sind schon seit über einer Stunde da.
Where are you? We arrived more than an hour ago.
(intransitive, + dative) to be left for someone
Was bleibt ihm jetzt noch, wo seine Frau gestorben ist?
What does he have left now that his wife is dead? (literally: What is left for him...)
(intransitive, + bei) to stick with; to stay with
Ich hab’s ihm erklärt, aber er bleibt bei seiner Meinung.
I’ve explained it to him, but he sticks with his opinion.

(keep on): The construction bleiben + infinitive is only possible with certain verbs that describe a fixed position. These are foremost stehen (“to stand”), sitzen (“to sit”), liegen (“to lie”), and synonyms of them. Moreover it is used with verbs like kleben (“to stick”), stecken (“to be jammed or stuck”), and the like. Some speakers also use it with wohnen (“to dwell”) and leben (“to live”).