stehlen meaning and definition in german

The person from whom the thing is stolen is given in the dative case. Thus, “Er hat mir ein Buch gestohlen” means: “He stole a book from me.” This is quite contrary to English usage, where “He stole me a book” would be the equivalent of German: “Er hat ein Buch für mich gestohlen.” The person for whom the thing is stolen must be expressed as an object of "für".
An exception to this, however, is a reflexive dative, which will have the same sense as in English: “Er hat sich ein Buch gestohlen” means: “He stole himself a book.” This exception is implied by logic, since one cannot steal from oneself.