1. to say ("stehen auf/in + Dat"is the German version for "say" in the sense of written text. "auf" is used for signs and board and labels, "in" is used for stuff you open, like emails or books.)
3. to like, to dig, to be into something ("stehen auf+Acc" - a very very common colloquial phrase.)
4. to fit, to suit ("jemandem (gut/nicht) stehen" - for clothes and similar things.)
How is this word used to express text saying something (instead of “sagen”)? I haven’t seen much about this usage online. Is there a different way that’s more common?
Yeah, “stehen” is actually the standard word for a text saying something.
– In der E-Mail steht, dass ich blah blah blah
So it’s “in” + Dative and then “stehen”. Or for signs, you’d say “auf” + Dative.
It kind of makes sense if you think of the letters and words being “upright”. They kind of “stand” on the lines.
Does that help?
That helps. So would the following be correct/idiomatic?
Im Buch steht: “Edgar hat seine Telefonnummer vergessen.”
Yes, that’s the best way to phrase stuff like that.