Angestoßen

Angestoßen is the past participle of the German verb anstoßen. The verb has two principal meanings in contemporary German: to bump against or into something, and to toast in celebration. In the bump sense, it describes a physical contact; in the toasting sense it describes the act of clinking glasses or drinking in a celebratory gesture. The participle angestoßen is used with the auxiliary haben in compound tenses, as in Wir haben angestoßen (we toasted) or Wir haben auf das Jubiläum angestoßen (we toasted to the anniversary). For the reflexive bump sense, a typical example is Ich habe mir das Knie angestoßen (I bumped my knee).

Grammatical notes: Anstoßen is a separable-prefix verb. In present tense the prefix is separated: er stößt an, wir stoßen an (for toasting, often with mit Sekt: Wir stoßen mit Sekt an). In perfect tense the participle angestoßen appears after the auxiliary: Wir haben angestoßen; Wir haben auf das Fest angestoßen. The form can also occur in attributive or passive-like constructions, but in everyday usage the distinction is usually clear from context.

See also: stoßen, anstoß, and related terms for talking about contact or celebration.

This term, like its base verb, is common in everyday German and appears in both literal and figurative contexts, making it a versatile element in speech and writing.