stürzen

Stürzen is a German verb meaning to fall, tumble, or collapse. It covers physical falls of people or objects as well as abrupt declines in non-physical contexts such as markets or structures. The term can be used intransitively (to fall) or transitively in the sense of causing something to fall, though in many cases a related form like umstürzen is preferred for “to topple.”

Etymology and forms: Stürzen derives from Middle High German stürzen and is related to the noun Sturz, meaning a fall or plunge. The participle is gestürzt; the present tense forms are ich stürze, du stürzt, er stürzt, wir stürzen, ihr stürzt, sie stürzen. In usage, the verb commonly appears intransitively to describe someone or something falling, and it can occur with a perfect tense using sein (ich bin gestürzt).

Contexts and usage: In everyday language, one says “Ich bin gestürzt” to report a fall. For declines or collapses, the verb is used intransitively as well: “Der Markt stürzte ab” (the market plummeted). For toppling a structure, native German often employs umstürzen or uses a passive construction like “Der Baum wurde gestürzt” or “Der Turm stürzte ein.” Related noun forms include Sturz (a fall or plunge) and, in architecture, Sturz as the lintel above a door or window.

See also: Sturz (Architektur).