entgangen

Entgangen is the past participle of the German verb entgehen, which means to escape, elude, or miss, especially in the sense of failing to notice or obtain something. The prefix ent- combined with gehen yields meanings like slipping away or going unnoticed. In usage, entgangen can function in different grammatical contexts, including as a participle in perfect tenses and as an adjective in compound phrases.

In standard grammar, entgangen appears with a form of sein in the perfect tense: Das Angebot ist mir entgangen. This means “I missed the offer” or more literally, “the offer escaped my notice.” The construction can also be used impersonally: Mir ist entgangen, dass... = I failed to notice that... and Etwas entgeht mir = Something escapes my notice.

As an attributive adjective, entgangen is inflected to agree with the noun: entgangene Chancen (missed opportunities), entgangene Gewinne (lost profits), entgangenes Gehalt (lost wages). These phrases refer to things that did not come to fruition or were not noticed.

Usage notes: Entgehen takes a dative experiencer, typically the person who experiences missing or escaping. It can also denote physical escape, as in Der Dieb ist mir entgangen (The thief escaped me).

Translations and equivalents include to escape one’s notice, to miss, to slip by, or to elude. In economic or legal contexts, entgangener Gewinn is a standard term for lost profit, reflecting a consequence that did not materialize.