rücke

Rücke is the second-person singular imperative form of the German verb rücken, used to tell a single informal listener to move something or to move closer. The base verb means to move, shift, or push something into a different position.

In present tense, the verb is conjugated as ich rücke, du rückst, er rückt, wir rücken, ihr rückt, sie rücken. The imperative rücke is used in everyday speech, for example: "Rücke den Stuhl näher."

Rücken forms with prefixes to indicate direction, such as vorrücken (to move forward or come up close), anrücken (to approach), and zurückrücken (to move back). These phrasal derivatives are common in contexts involving positioning, seating, or marching.

Sich rücken is the reflexive form meaning to reposition oneself, or, less commonly, to elbow one’s way through a crowd. The expression reflects how the same verb can describe both deliberate movement of objects and changes in one’s own posture.

In addition to the verb use, rücke can appear as a surname in German-speaking regions, while the capitalized Rücken is a separate noun meaning the back. The two forms are related etymologically but function differently in sentences.