kleckern
German, verb[ˈklɛkɐn]
kleckern is spelled K-L-E-C-K-E-R-N (8 letters) and appears about once in every 4 million words in written German, the 94,067th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Kleckern is a German verb meaning “to dribble, to spill (fall onto a surface in irregular drops)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “Flüssigkeit heruntertropfen oder Feuchtigkeit enthaltende Speisen herabfallen lassen”.
What does kleckern mean in English?
verb
- 1
informalto dribble, to spill (fall onto a surface in irregular drops)
Etwas von der Farbe ist auf den Boden gekleckert.
- 2
informalto trickle (move or appear slowly and in small volumes)
- 3
informalto drip, to spill (cause a liquid or mushy substance to fall in irregular drops) [auxiliary haben]
Das Kind kleckert mit dem Ketchup.
- 4
informalto fiddle around
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. Flüssigkeit heruntertropfen oder Feuchtigkeit enthaltende Speisen herabfallen lassen 2. etwas beflecken 3. bei einer Tätigkeit zögerlich vorgehen, nur langsam ausführen 4. nur wenige Mittel für die Erreichung eines Zieles aufwenden
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 kleckern
- kleckert present singular third-person
- kleckerte past
- gekleckert participle past
- haben auxiliary
- sein auxiliary
- kleckernd participle present
- kleckre first-person indicative present
- kleckere first-person indicative present
- klecker first-person indicative present
- kleckerst indicative present second-person
- kleckerest second-person singular subjunctive
- kleckrest second-person singular subjunctive
- kleckeret plural second-person subjunctive
- kleckret plural second-person subjunctive
- kleckerten first-person indicative plural
- kleckertest indicative preterite second-person
- kleckertet indicative plural preterite
- kleckere! imperative singular
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce kleckern?
- [ˈklɛkɐn]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to kleckern
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is kleckern in German?
kleckern appears about once in every 4 million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).