# schief

schief is a German adjective meaning “skew”. Forms: schiefer, am schiefsten.

## Forms

- Comparative: schiefer
- Superlative: am schiefsten

## In other languages

- Русский: косой, наклонный, кривой
- Українська: косий, похилий

## Adjective

1. skew, oblique, askew, leaning, slanting, aslant, inclined (neither parallel nor perpendicular)
2. slopy, sloping (characterised by a slope or slopes)
3. crooked, awry (set at an angle; not vertical or square)
4. lopsided (not even or balanced; not the same on one side as on the other)
5. _of facial expressions_ wry (turned away, contorted)
6. _of an image_ distorted (misshapen; brought out of shape)
7. worn (damaged and shabby as a result of much use)
8. _figurative_ inappropriate (not suitable for the situation, time, or place)
9. oblique not straight
   - Dieses Bild hängt ja ganz schief!

## Adverb

1. crookedly, at an angle
2. lopsidedly
3. _figurative_ askance (sideways; obliquely)
4. badly, wrong (in a way that isn't right)

## Examples

- Alles, was schiefgehen konnte, ging auch schief. — Everything that could go wrong did.
- Warum hängt das Bild schief? — Why is the picture hanging askew?
- Das Bild hängt schief. — The picture is askew.
- Was ist denn da schief gelaufen? — What went wrong there?
- Unser Experiment letzte Woche ging schief. — Our experiment went wrong last week.

## Related words

- Synonym: schräg

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Sources: Meanings and forms from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR).
URL: https://wordwide.space/de-en/wort/schief