dümpeln
German, verb/ˈdʏmpəln/
dümpeln is spelled D-Ü-M-P-E-L-N (7 letters) and appears about once in every 5 million words in written German, the 115,169th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Dümpeln is a German verb meaning “to be tied up bobbing up and down in the water” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “auf dem Wasser schwimmend in leichter Bewegung sein, nicht von der Stelle kommen”.
What does dümpeln mean in English?
verb
- 1
to be tied up bobbing up and down in the water
Unser Boot dümpelte am Ufer des flachen Weihers.
- 2
to be stuck; to be inactive or unsuccessful; to make no substantial progress
Der Klub dümpelt seit Jahren in der 5. Liga.
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. auf dem Wasser schwimmend in leichter Bewegung sein, nicht von der Stelle kommen 2. nicht vom Fleck kommen
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of dümpeln
- dümpelt present singular third-person
- dümpelte past
- gedümpelt participle past
- haben auxiliary
- dümpelnd participle present
- dümple first-person indicative present
- dümpele first-person indicative present
- dümpel first-person indicative present
- dümpelst indicative present second-person
- dümpelest second-person singular subjunctive
- dümplest second-person singular subjunctive
- dümpelet plural second-person subjunctive
- dümplet plural second-person subjunctive
- dümpelten first-person indicative plural
- dümpeltest indicative preterite second-person
- dümpeltet indicative plural preterite
- dümple! imperative singular
- dümpele! imperative singular
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce dümpeln?
- /ˈdʏmpəln/
- [ˈdʏmpl̩n]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
How common is dümpeln in German?
dümpeln appears about once in every 5 million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).