Der Struwwelpeter: Geschichten, Moral und deutsche Kultur

What does “kippeln” mean in German?

In the Zappel-Philipp story, Philipp won’t sit still at the table. His parents say “hör auf zu zappeln, hör auf zu kippeln” — stop fidgeting, stop rocking the chair. “kippeln” is the German word for tipping a chair back onto its two rear legs, the thing parents usually tell kids to stop. Philipp ignores them, loses his balance, and pulls the whole tablecloth and dinner down with him.

In the clip the parents say: “hör auf zu zappeln, hör auf zu kippeln” — “stop fidgeting, stop rocking the chair.” English needs a whole phrase here, but German packs it into one verb. To “kippeln” is to balance a chair on its two back legs with the front legs in the air, instead of sitting on all four. You usually hear it as a warning to children at the table: “Hör auf zu kippeln!” (“Stop rocking the chair!”). It comes from “kippen” (to tip over), and the danger is right there — if you lean too far, the chair tips and you fall. Two more examples: “Kippel nicht mit dem Stuhl, du fällst noch um.” (“Don’t rock the chair, you’ll fall.”), and “Der Lehrer hat ihm verboten zu kippeln.” (“The teacher told him not to rock back on his chair.”). Note: don’t mix it up with “zappeln” (to fidget, to wriggle), which sits right next to it in the clip — “zappeln” is the restless body, “kippeln” is the tipping chair.