Polyglot Dictionary

vorfallen

/ˈfoːɐ̯ˌfalən/

verb C1

der (masc.) die (fem.) das (neut.)

Underline = a spelling pattern that usually signals that gender.

V Register Neutral Era Current Frequency Academic Domain General Tone Neutral

Forms

present
fällt vor
past
fiel vor
perfect
ist vorgefallen

Meaning

  1. to occur, to happen

    Built from vor (forward, before) + fallen (to fall).

V Category Occurrence Concreteness Concrete Agency Involuntary Duration Durative Transitivity Intransitive

Made of

  • vor forward, before
  • fallen to fall

Similar words

ereignen

vorfallen often implies something happening unexpectedly or notably, like an incident; sich ereignen is more neutral, simply describing an event taking place.

Similar in other languages

English

happen

Close — to occur relates to happening.

Practice

1 What does vorfallen mean?

2 Fill the gap: Was ist gestern ___?

3 Which fingerprint chart matches vorfallen?

verbseparablecompound

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