wackeln

Wackeln is a German verb meaning to wiggle, wobble, or shake with small, irregular movements. It is typically used to describe movement that is not steady, such as the shifting of an object or the side-to-side motion of a body part.

The verb is mainly intransitive and often takes a subject that experiences the wobble. Examples include: Der Stuhl wackelt (The chair wobbles) or Er wackelte mit dem Kopf (He bobbed/shook his head). It can also describe a condition of instability, as in a loose connection or a shaky surface. In everyday language, phrases like „mit dem Kopf wackeln“ or „mit dem Bein wackeln“ are common to express a deliberate or habitual motion.

Wackeln has a related noun, das Wackeln, which denotes the act of wobbling or the state of being unstable. The term appears in compounds such as Wackelkontakt (a loose electrical contact) and Wackelstuhl (a chair that wobbles). The adjective form wackelig means unstable or shaky, and its usage spans physical and figurative senses.

Etymologically, Wackeln is a native German verb formed from the noun Wackel, which conveys the sense of a wobble and is connected to related terms describing instability. The construction and related words reflect the same semantic field of irregular, unsteady motion.

In usage, wackeln is common in everyday speech to describe both concrete motions (an object moving) and more abstract instability (a situation that is not firm). Its simple, frequent form makes it a standard term in descriptive language about movement and conditions of looseness.