sollen (German)
Where does "sollen" come from?
The German verb 'sollen' traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European root *skel-, meaning to owe or be obligated. It moved through Proto-Germanic and Proto-West Germanic as *skulan before evolving into Old High German and eventually Middle High German. This linguistic path preserves the ancient sense of duty and debt, shared by cognates like the English 'shall' and Dutch 'zullen'.
Full etymology tree
- sollen (German), 'should; to be obligated (to do something); ought; shall'
- inherited schuln (Middle High German), 'alternative form of süln'
- inherited sculan (Old High German), 'to shall'
- inherited *skulan (Proto-West Germanic), 'to owe, to be obliged'
- inherited *skulaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to owe'
- inherited *skel- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to be obligated, owe'
- inherited *skulaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to owe'
- inherited *skulan (Proto-West Germanic), 'to owe, to be obliged'
- inherited sculan (Old High German), 'to shall'
- inherited schuln (Middle High German), 'alternative form of süln'
Ancestors
- sculan (Old High German)
- *skulan (Proto-West Germanic)
Cognates and doublets
- skulle (Danish)
- zullen (Dutch)
- shall (English)
- skall (Swedish)
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris