unterbrechen
German, verb
unterbrechen is spelled U-N-T-E-R-B-R-E-C-H-E-N (12 letters) and appears 4.4 times per million words in written German, the 13,580th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Unterbrechen is a German verb meaning “to interrupt” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Unterbrechen is a different word: “gerund of unterbrechen”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “(eine bestehende Verbindung) vorübergehend trennen”.
What does unterbrechen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to interrupt
Mein Plan hätte funktioniert, aber ich wurde unterbrochen.
noun
- 1
neutergerund of unterbrechen
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. (eine bestehende Verbindung) vorübergehend trennen 2. eine Kommunikation zwischen zwei Teilnehmern stören, kurzzeitig aufhalten 3. eine Handlung aussetzen; aufhören etwas zu tun, um später wieder damit zu beginnen
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 unterbrechen
- unterbricht present singular third-person
- unterbrach past
- unterbrochen participle past
- unterbräche past subjunctive
- haben auxiliary
- 4 strong
- unterbrechend participle present
- unterbreche first-person indicative present
- unterbrichst indicative present second-person
- unterbrecht indicative plural present
- unterbrechest second-person singular subjunctive
- unterbrechet plural second-person subjunctive
- unterbrachen first-person indicative plural
- unterbrächen first-person formal plural
- unterbrachst indicative preterite second-person
- unterbracht indicative plural preterite
- unterbrächest formal rare second-person
- unterbrächst formal rare second-person
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to unterbrechen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is unterbrechen in German?
unterbrechen appears 4.4 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).