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platzen

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Plätzen

German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German platzen, blatzen (“to splat, thump, fall noisily”), from plaz, blaz (“splat, thump”), of onomatopoeic origin. Ultimately the same word as platschen (“to splat, splash”) with the development /ts/ > /tʃ/ (as in klatschen, Pritsche, rutschen etc.); the /ts/ is still preserved in Platzregen (“downpour”). Closely related also with Dutch plassen, Middle Low German plasken, English plash.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈplatsən/, [ˈpla.t͡sn̩]
  • Audio (Germany (Berlin)):(file)
  • Hyphenation: plat‧zen

Verb

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platzen (weak, third-person singular present platzt, past tense platzte, past participle geplatzt, auxiliary sein) (intransitive)

  1. to burst, to pop (to be torn apart from internal pressure, e.g. of balloons)
    Synonym: (chiefly literary) bersten
    Wenn du den Ballon noch weiter aufbläst, platzt er.
    If you blow up that balloon any further, it's going to pop.
    1. (figuratively, often with gleich or fast) to burst, to explode (from strong emotions or satiation)
      vor Wut gleich/fast platzen ― to be steaming with anger, to be about to explode with anger
      vor Stolz gleich/fast platzen ― to swell with pride
  2. to fall through, to be suddenly or unexpectedly canceled (of plans, projects, dreams)
    Synonym: sich zerschlagen
    Hier sollte ein Hotel gebaut werden, aber das Projekt ist geplatzt.
    There was a hotel supposed to be built here, but that project fell through.
  3. to burst, to stumble (into) (to suddely and conspicuously enter a location)
    Er hat sich in der Tür geirrt und ist mitten in eine Vorstandssitzung geplatzt.
    He got the wrong door and burst right into a board meeting.
  4. (banking) to bounce (of a cheque)

Conjugation

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • “platzen”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎[1] (in German)
  • “platzen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
  • “platzen” in Duden online
  • “platzen” in OpenThesaurus.de