Usage Note
gelingen is impersonal and takes a dative person, so 'I succeeded' is es ist mir gelungen (literally 'it succeeded to me'). It is a strong verb (gelang, gelungen) and conveys that an effort turned out well.
Examples
"Der Kuchen ist mir gut gelungen."
Natural Translation
My cake turned out well.
Literal Translation
The cake is to-me well succeeded.

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