verstohlen
furtive
Secretive and inconspicuous, so that other people are unlikely to notice.
EXAMPLE
Sie warf ihm einen verstohlenen Blick zu.
She gave him a furtive glance.
verstohlen
furtive
verstohlen – verstohlener – am verstohlensten
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Meanings
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry verstohlen, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
Comparison
| basic form | verstohlen |
|---|---|
| comparative | verstohlener |
| superlative | am verstohlensten |
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 verstohlen.
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 verstohlen.
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 verstohlen.
Usage tips
Typical collocations
'Verstohlen' (furtive) is especially common with glances and small gestures. Typical collocations include 'ein verstohlener Blick' (a furtive glance), 'verstohlen lächeln' (to smile furtively), and 'verstohlen zu jemandem hinüberblicken' (to glance furtively at someone).
EXAMPLE
Er lächelte verstohlen, als niemand in seine Richtung sah.
He smiled furtively when no one was looking in his direction.
Sentence pattern
A common sentence pattern is 'jemandem einen verstohlenen Blick zuwerfen' (to give someone a furtive glance). The person is in the dative, and the glance is in the accusative.
EXAMPLE
Nina warf ihrem Kollegen einen verstohlenen Blick zu.
Nina gave her colleague a furtive glance.
Register and style
'Verstohlen' (furtive) occurs especially often in narrative and written texts when a small secret action is being described.
EXAMPLE
Mit einem verstohlenen Lächeln schob er den Zettel unter das Buch.
With a furtive smile, he pushed the note under the book.
In real life
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