misslingen

Misslingen is a German verb meaning to fail to be successful or to come to a unsuccessful result. It is used to describe an action, plan, or undertaking that does not achieve its intended outcome. The opposite concept is gelingen, which means to succeed. In everyday speech people more often say "etwas gelingt mir" or "das hat nicht geklappt," whereas misslingen tends to appear in more formal, literary, or technical contexts.

Etymology and forms: Misslingen is formed from the negative prefix miss- attached to gelingen, sharing its root with gelingen. As an intransitive verb it describes the failure of an endeavor. The common simple past is "misslang" (Der Plan misslang). The perfect tense is formed with sein: "Der Plan ist misslungen." The noun form "das Misslingen" denotes the act or result of failing, and the adjective "misslungen" describes something that has failed, as in "ein misslungenes Experiment."

Usage notes: While misslingen is a standard term in German, its use is more common in written, formal, or specialized language. In colloquial speech speakers typically prefer expressions like "scheitern" for failure or "klappen" in the sense of "to work" when negated.

See also: Gelingen, Scheitern.