drankommen

German

Etymology

dran- +‎ kommen

Pronunciation

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Verb

1. (informal) to touch inadvertently

   Das war keine Absicht. Ich muss da irgendwie drangekommen sein.

   That wasn't on purpose. I must have touched it somehow.

2. (informal) to manage to reach

   Bring mir mal den Stuhl. Ich komm nicht an das Brett dran.

   Fetch me the chair, would you? I can't reach the board.

3. (colloquial) to manage to obtain; to come by; to get at

   Teuer sind die nicht besonders, aber es ist schwer, da dranzukommen.

   They're not particularly expensive, but hard to come by.

4. (informal) to have one's go/turn

   Du kommst als Nächstes dran. ― You're next.

   Ich hab mich die ganze Zeit gemeldet, aber bin gar nicht drangekommen.

   I had my hand raised the whole time, but I never got my turn.

5. (colloquial) to take office; to assume some high position (especially political)

   Wann ist der Kohl drangekommen? – 1982, glaub ich.

   When did Kohl become chancellor? – 1982, I think.

6. (colloquial) to be asked about in a test

   Das braucht ihr nicht lernen. Das kommt eh nicht dran.

   You don’t have to revise this. It won't be tested anyway.

Usage notes

• In senses 1 to 3, drankommen is most often construed with a pronominal adverb (da, hier, etc.). It can also be construed with an + accusative (as in example 2), but in this case dran is not necessary and could just as well be left out; thus: Ich komm nicht an das Brett.