stolpern

stumble

verb SHTOL-pern Rare

Also means

trip

Usage Note

stolpern means to trip over something and nearly fall. It takes sein and pairs with über: Er stolperte über die Wurzel. Figuratively it can mean to come to grief over a problem.

Examples

"Ich bin über den Stein gestolpert."

Natural Translation

I stumbled over the stone.

Literal Translation

I am over the stone stumbled.

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