hinken
to limp
To move unevenly and with difficulty because one leg is injured or shorter.
EXAMPLE
Seit seinem Skiunfall hinkt er auf dem linken Bein.
Since his skiing accident, he has been limping on his left leg.
hinken
to limp / lag
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Meanings
hinken
to lag behind
Figuratively, to fall behind a development, performance level, or standard.
EXAMPLE
In der Digitalisierung hinkt die deutsche Verwaltung anderen Ländern hinterher.
In digitalization, the German administration lags behind other countries.
hinken
to be flawed
In the expression 'der Vergleich hinkt' (the comparison is flawed): to be inappropriate or not accurate.
EXAMPLE
Dein Vergleich hinkt, weil du zwei völlig unterschiedliche Situationen gleichsetzt.
Your comparison is flawed because you are equating two completely different situations.
Usage tips
Auxiliary verb in the perfect tense
Although 'hinken' (to limp) describes movement, the perfect tense is formed with 'haben' (to have) and not with 'sein' (to be). This is an important exception to the general rule for verbs of movement.
EXAMPLE
Nach seiner Knieoperation hat er wochenlang gehinkt.
After his knee operation, he limped for weeks.
Sentence structure for movement
To express which leg is affected, you use the preposition 'auf' followed by the dative. Alternatively, you can also use 'mit' and the dative.
EXAMPLE
Das alte Pferd hinkt auf dem linken Hinterbein.
The old horse is limping on its left hind leg.
Figurative use
In the figurative sense, 'hinken' (to lag) is often combined with the adverb 'hinterher' (behind). The expression 'hinterherhinken' means to lag behind compared to others.
EXAMPLE
Das Projekt hinkt dem Zeitplan deutlich hinterher.
The project is lagging well behind schedule.
Fixed expression
The idiom 'der Vergleich hinkt' (the comparison is flawed) is very common. It expresses that a comparison is inappropriate or logically flawed.
EXAMPLE
Du kannst die Kosten nicht einfach so gegenüberstellen, der Vergleich hinkt.
You can't simply compare the costs like that; the comparison is flawed.
Compare with
hinken vs zurückbleiben
to stay behind / fall behind
Both verbs can express that a performance does not reach a benchmark. Zurückbleiben describes this neutrally and is usually used with “hinter.” Hinken is more figurative and, in this use, typically occurs with “hinterher” or also with “hinter.”
hinken
Die Leistung des Teams hinkte den Erwartungen hinterher.
The team's performance lagged behind expectations.
zurückbleiben
Die Leistung des Teams blieb hinter den Erwartungen zurück.
The team's performance fell short of expectations.
In real life
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