Sein

Noun formed from sein (“to be”)

• IPA^(key): /zaɪn/

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• Rhymes: -aɪ̯n

Sein n (strong, genitive Seins, no plural)

1. existence, being, essence (the state and the conditions of being, existing, occurring)
   • 1798, August Wilhelm Schlegel, transl., Hamlet‎, translation of Hamlet by William Shakespeare, [Act III, scene i]:

     Sein oder Nichtsein, das ist hier die Frage

     To be, or not to be, that is the question

• While Existenz means only the fact of being, Sein includes the how and why of being.

• “Sein” in Duden online
• “Sein” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache