kerültem

Kerültem is a form of the Hungarian verb kerülni. It is the first-person singular past tense (past indefinite) and is used to express that the speaker ended up in a place or situation, or found themselves somewhere as a consequence of events. The most common sense is “I ended up” or “I found myself.” It is frequently heard in phrases that describe how someone arrived at a location, for example: “Így kerültem ide” (That’s how I ended up here) or “A kórházba kerültem” (I ended up in the hospital).

The verb kerülni has several senses. In one, it means to end up somewhere or to be placed in a situation. In another, it can mean to go around an obstacle or to travel via a route, as in “kerültem a parkon át” (I went around via the park). The meaning “to avoid” is formed with the prefix el-, yielding elkerülni; its past tense first person singular is elkerültem (I avoided).

Conjugation and usage notes: kerülni belongs to the common Hungarian verb class with vowel harmony. The past tense forms include kerültem (I ended up), kerültél (you ended up), került (he/she ended up), kerültünk (we ended up), etc. The form került is also the third-person past of “to cost” in a separate sense, so context is important to avoid confusion.

Related terms: kerülés (the act of ending up or of going around), kerülj, and megkerülni (to go around or to circumvent, with meg- indicating completion or circumvention in some contexts).