kippte

Kippte is the simple past tense form of the German verb kippen, which means to tilt, tip over, or incline something. It is used to describe an action in the past where an object or a person moved from an upright position to a tilted one, or when something shifted abruptly.

The verb kippen comes from Germanic roots and is related to other terms for tilting or leaning. A common related form is umkippen, meaning to topple or topple over, often used when something falls completely or changes position unexpectedly. The past participle of kippen is gekippt, which is used with haben to form the present perfect tense (e.g., er hat gekippt).

In terms of grammar, kippen is a weak (regular) verb. In the Präteritum (simple past), the verb generally takes the standard endings for weak verbs, with forms such as ich kippte and er kippte for singular subjects, and wir kippten, ihr kipptet, sie kippten for plural subjects. The perfect tense uses gekippt with haben, as in Der Stuhl hat gekippt.

Usage notes and examples:

- Der Stuhl kippte um, als er schwer beladen wurde. (The chair tilted over when it was heavily loaded.)

- Der Baum kippte bei starkem Wind. (The tree toppled in strong wind.)

- Eine Kiste kippt leicht, wenn man sie falsch herum anhebt; man sollte sie sichern. (A crate tilts easily if not handled properly.)

See also: kippen, umkippen, and related phrases describing tilting or tipping in mechanical, architectural, or natural contexts.