German word

verschlafen

Pronunciation

IPA/fɛɐ̯ˈʃlaːfən/

Meaning

  • verboversleep

Example

Ich habe heute verschlafen.

I overslept today.

Illustration for verschlafen (oversleep)

More examples

Heute habe ich den Wecker verschlafen und bin zu spät zur Vorlesung gekommen.

Today I slept through my alarm and arrived late for the lecture.

Core concept

An alarm has already rung while the sleeper remains in bed, turning sleep into a missed start and giving a person or place a drowsy air.

Common phrases

  • sich verschlafen

    oversleep

  • den Wecker verschlafen

    sleep through the alarm

  • die Vorlesung verschlafen

    sleep through the lecture

Similar words

verpennen: Informally sleep through an alarm or planned start and wake too late.
verpassen: Be too late to catch a vehicle or attend an appointment.
durchschlafen: Remain asleep all night without waking in between.
überschlafen: Take a night to sleep before deciding how to handle a problem.

Definition in German

Zu lange schlafen, sodass man nicht rechtzeitig aufwacht oder eine Verpflichtung verpasst.

Word origin

The verb combines inherited Germanic schlafen, related to English sleep, with ver-, forming a verb for sleep that extends beyond a needed time.

Usage tips

  • As a verb, verschlafen has an inseparable prefix: the present is ich verschlafe and the perfect is ich habe verschlafen, without ge.

Other meanings

  • sleep pastverb
  • sleepyadjective

Opposites

Related words

  • verschlafensleepyadjective
  • das Verschlafenoversleepingnoun

Word lists with this word