rumpeln
German, verb
rumpeln is spelled R-U-M-P-E-L-N (7 letters) and appears about once in every 4 million words in written German, the 95,383rd most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Rumpeln is a German verb meaning “to make a low-pitched thudding or tumbling sound (often with a degree of irregularity)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Rumpeln is a different word: “gerund of rumpeln”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “ein dumpfes, polterndes Geräusch von sich geben”.
What does rumpeln mean in English?
verb
- 1
to make a low-pitched thudding or tumbling sound (often with a degree of irregularity)
- 2
to rumble (to move with a heavy, low-pitched sound)
noun
- 1
neutergerund of rumpeln
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. ein dumpfes, polterndes Geräusch von sich geben 2. sich ein dumpfes, polterndes Geräusch von sich gebend (mit einem/als Fahrzeug) fortbewegen 3. kräftig abreiben
noun: 1. rumpelndes Geräusch
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 rumpeln
- rumpelt present singular third-person
- rumpelte past
- gerumpelt participle past
- haben auxiliary
- sein auxiliary
- rumpelnd participle present
- rumple first-person indicative present
- rumpele first-person indicative present
- rumpel first-person indicative present
- rumpelst indicative present second-person
- rumpelest second-person singular subjunctive
- rumplest second-person singular subjunctive
- rumpelet plural second-person subjunctive
- rumplet plural second-person subjunctive
- rumpelten first-person indicative plural
- rumpeltest indicative preterite second-person
- rumpeltet indicative plural preterite
- rumpel! imperative singular
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to rumpeln
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is rumpeln in German?
rumpeln 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).