German Conversation · Level 74
60 words
German word
ersticken
Pronunciation
IPA/ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɪkən/
Meaning
- verbchoke
Example
Das Kind erstickte an einem Stück Brot.
The child choked on a piece of bread.
More examples
Die Behörden erstickten den Protest im Keim.
The authorities nipped the protest in the bud.
Core concept
An air passage closes like a sealed valve, leaving no room for breath and, figuratively, no room for something to continue.
Common phrases
einen Protest ersticken
suppress a protest
an einem Stück Brot ersticken
choke on a piece of bread
einen Brand ersticken
smother a fire
Similar words
verschlucken: Accidentally swallowed food gets stuck and temporarily cuts off breathing.
würgen: Contact with something in the throat triggers retching and troubled breathing.
keuchen: Short, strained breaths occur during intense physical distress.
ertrinken: Breathing stops when water fills the airway, leading to drowning.
Definition in German
Durch Blockierung der Luftzufuhr aufhören zu atmen; intransitiv mit Ursache (an etwas ersticken); transitiv: jemanden durch Entzug der Luft töten.
Word origin
Ersticken goes back to Old High German arstickēn and combines the prefix er- with sticken, expressing complete obstruction.
Usage tips
- With a cause, ersticken takes an + dative, as in an einem Stück Brot; with a person as object, it means causing death by blocked air.
Other meanings
- smotherverb
- suppressverb
Opposites
- atmenbreatheverb
Related words
- Erstickungsuffocationnoun
- Erstickungsgefahrdanger of suffocationnoun
- erstickendsuffocatingadjective