stapeln

Stapeln is a German verb meaning to stack, pile up, or assemble by placing objects on top of one another. It is used for physical actions, such as stacking crates, boxes, plates, or bricks, as well as for figurative uses like stacking papers, records, or data in a sequence. The act is typically performed to create order, save space, or build a structure.

Etymology and forms: The verb derives from the noun Stapel, meaning a pile or stack, and shares cognates with related Germanic languages. Conjugation follows the regular weak-verb pattern: ich stapel, du stapelst, er/sie/es stapelt, wir stapeln, ihr stapelt, sie/Sie stapeln. The past participle is gestapelt, and the present participle is stapelnd.

Usage notes: Aufstapeln is a related verb meaning to stack up on top of an existing stack. Stapeln can be used in both literal and somewhat abstract contexts, for example: „Wir stapeln die Kartons im Lager“ and „Sie stapeln die Daten in einer Reihenfolge.“ In computing, the English verb to stack is often translated with Stapeln in contexts like stacking layers or elements, though the common noun for the data structure is der Stapel (the stack).

Common collocations and examples: Kartons stapeln, Teller stapeln, Bücherstapel, einen Stapel von Formularen stapeln. The noun Stapel (a pile or stack) is frequently used in everyday language to describe the resulting pile rather than the action itself.

See also: Stapel, Stape l- related terms in German.