Spiegelfolie am Fenster: So geht es schief

What does “schiefgegangen” mean in German?

Trying to put mirror film on his windows, he flops onto the bed and groans: “bei mir ist halt einfach alles schiefgegangen” — everything just went wrong for me. “Schief” means crooked or slanted, so “schiefgegangen” pictures a plan tipping sideways instead of going straight. Germans use it for small messes and real disasters alike — you will start hearing it everywhere once you know it.

In the clip he sighs: “Ungelogen, bei mir ist halt einfach alles schiefgegangen.” — “No joke, everything just went wrong for me.” The full verb is “schiefgehen.” Here are some everyday uses: • “Der Plan ist schiefgegangen.” = The plan went wrong. • “Was kann da schon schiefgehen?” = What could possibly go wrong? (often said right before it does). • “Hoffentlich geht nichts schief.” = Hopefully nothing goes wrong. Note: “schief” on its own means crooked or slanted (a “schiefes Bild” is a picture hanging crooked). Paired with “gehen,” it stops being about angles and just means a plan did not work out. It is casual and very common in spoken German.