verschachtelt
convoluted
So complex in structure or wording that the individual parts are difficult to grasp.
EXAMPLE
Der Roman hat eine sehr verschachtelt erzählte Handlung.
The novel has a plot that is told in a very convoluted way.
verschachtelt
nested / convoluted
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Meanings
verschachtelt
nested
Arranged so that parts lie inside one another, are pushed into one another, or are closely interconnected.
EXAMPLE
Die Wohnungen in dem alten Gebäude sind verschachtelt angeordnet.
The apartments in the old building are laid out in an interlocking way.
Forms
After der, die, das
| masc. | fem. | neut. | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | -e | -e | -e | -en |
| acc. | -en | -e | -e | -en |
| dat. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
| gen. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
Add the ending to verschachtelt.
After ein, eine
| masc. | fem. | neut. | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | -er | -e | -es | -en |
| acc. | -en | -e | -es | -en |
| dat. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
| gen. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
Add the ending to verschachtelt.
Without article
| masc. | fem. | neut. | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | -er | -e | -es | -e |
| acc. | -en | -e | -es | -e |
| dat. | -em | -er | -em | -en |
| gen. | -en | -er | -en | -er |
Add the ending to verschachtelt.
Usage tips
Word family
'Verschachtelt' (nested) belongs to the word family of 'Schachtel' (box) and 'verschachteln' (to nest). As a memory aid, picture boxes standing inside one another: rooms or parts of a text can also be arranged inside one another.
EXAMPLE
Die Räume des alten Hauses sind wie Schachteln ineinander verschachtelt.
The rooms in the old house are nested inside one another like boxes.
Typical collocations
For texts, 'verschachtelte Sätze' (nested sentences), 'ein verschachtelter Satzbau' (a convoluted sentence structure), and 'eine verschachtelte Handlung' (a convoluted plot) are typical collocations. You can use 'stark' (highly) or 'zu' (too) to emphasize that the structure makes the text harder to understand.
EXAMPLE
Der Artikel ist wegen seiner stark verschachtelten Sätze schwer zu verstehen.
The article is difficult to understand because of its highly convoluted sentences.
Technical context
In computer science, you often encounter 'verschachtelt' (nested) with loops and conditions. There, the word describes a technical structure and is not automatically a negative evaluation.
EXAMPLE
Mit zwei verschachtelten Schleifen verarbeitet das Programm die Zeilen und Spalten der Tabelle.
With two nested loops, the program processes the rows and columns of the table.
In real life
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