klappen
German, verb
klappen is spelled K-L-A-P-P-E-N (7 letters) and appears 10 times per million words in written German, the 7,028th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Klappen is a German verb meaning “to clap (make a soft clapping sound, particularly of something being closed)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Klappen is a different word: “plural of Klappe”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “ein Teil von etwas in eine bestimmte Richtung oder Stellung wenden, biegen”.
What does klappen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to clap (make a soft clapping sound, particularly of something being closed)
- 2
to fold; to flip; to bend (to close or open a hinge)
Zum Transport muss diese Liege geklappt werden.
- 3
colloquialto work out, to succeed, to function correctly, etc.
Wenn alles klappt, bin ich um sieben zu Hause.
noun
- 1
plural of Klappe
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. ein Teil von etwas in eine bestimmte Richtung oder Stellung wenden, biegen 2. bei etwas Erfolg haben; etwas gelingt, funktioniert 3. ein leichtes, dumpfes Geräusch auslösen
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 klappen
- klappt present singular third-person
- klappte past
- geklappt participle past
- haben auxiliary
- klappend participle present
- klappe first-person indicative present
- klappst indicative present second-person
- klappest second-person singular subjunctive
- klappet plural second-person subjunctive
- klappten first-person indicative plural
- klapptest indicative preterite second-person
- klapptet indicative plural preterite
- klapp imperative second-person singular
- habe geklappt first-person indicative multiword-construction
- haben geklappt first-person indicative multiword-construction
- klappe! imperative singular
- klappt! imperative plural
- geklappt haben active infinitive perfect
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to klappen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is klappen in German?
klappen appears 10 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).