rütteln
German, verb
rütteln is spelled R-Ü-T-T-E-L-N (7 letters) and appears 1.9 times per million words in written German, the 25,497th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Rütteln is a German verb meaning “to shake, to jolt” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Rütteln is a different word: “gerund of rütteln”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “etwas mit kleinen, schnellen Stößen bewegen”.
What does rütteln mean in English?
verb
- 1
to shake, to jolt
jemanden an der Schulter rütteln
- 2
to shake, to rattle (to make a barrier or obstacle shake, attempting to open or displace it)
Er rüttelte an der Tür, aber sie war verschlossen.
- 3
to attempt to do away with, to rebel against (an established standard, rule, idea)
an etwas ist nicht zu rütteln
- 4
to hover (to float in the air by fast wingbeats)
noun
- 1
neutergerund of rütteln
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. etwas mit kleinen, schnellen Stößen bewegen 2. etwas (zum Beispiel ein Prinzip) infrage stellen, bedrohen 3. der Vorgang des Sektflaschen-Drehens auf dem Rüttelbrett oder Rüttelpult, um den Niederschlag und die Trübstoffe zum Korken bzw. in den Flaschenhals zu treiben 4. ein Vogel, meist ein Raubvogel, fliegt mit kurzen Flügelschlägen an einem Punkt in der Luft
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 rütteln
- rüttelt present singular third-person
- rüttelte past
- gerüttelt participle past
- haben auxiliary
- rüttelnd participle present
- rüttle first-person indicative present
- rüttele first-person indicative present
- rüttel first-person indicative present
- rüttelst indicative present second-person
- rüttelest second-person singular subjunctive
- rüttlest second-person singular subjunctive
- rüttelet plural second-person subjunctive
- rüttlet plural second-person subjunctive
- rüttelten first-person indicative plural
- rütteltest indicative preterite second-person
- rütteltet indicative plural preterite
- rüttle! imperative singular
- rüttele! imperative singular
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to rütteln
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is rütteln in German?
rütteln appears 1.9 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).