Rutschen

Rutschen is a German verb meaning to slide or slip. It describes the action of moving along a surface under the influence of gravity or reduced friction. The term can also be used figuratively to indicate a gradual change away from a desired state or plan.

Examples of use include physical movement on ice, wet surfaces or slopes: “Sie rutschte auf dem Eis” or “Der Wagen rutschte auf der nassen Straße ins Schleudern.” The verb can take a perfect tense with the auxiliary sein: “Ich bin gerutscht.”

Rutschen can also function as a noun in its plural form. The singular noun is “die Rutsche,” meaning a slide such as a playground slide or a water slide. The plural “die Rutschen” refers to multiple slides. For example: “Die Rutschen im Freibad sind neu.”

Grammatical notes: Rutschen is a regular (weak) verb. Present tense forms are: ich rutsche, du rutschst, er rutscht, wir rutschen, ihr rutscht, sie rutschen. The past participle is gerutscht, used with sein in perfect constructions (Ich bin gerutscht). The word interacts with related nouns such as Rutsche (singular) and Rutschen (plural) to distinguish verb meaning from the noun meaning.