Drama nach Stromausfall bei Unter uns

What does “Stromausfall” mean in German?

Strom means electrical current; Ausfall means a failure or drop-out. German joins them into Stromausfall — the moment the power simply stops. In the clip, two characters each worry they are schuld am Stromausfall, to blame for the power cut. The compound is direct: the first part says what went out, and the second says what kind of event it was.

Spoken in the clip: “...Schuld am Stromausfall zu sein” — “...to be to blame for the power cut.” Schuld an etwas sein means to be to blame for something: “Ich bin nicht schuld an dem Problem.” (I am not to blame for the problem.) Stromausfall turns up in everyday talk and news reports. A few examples: “Der Stromausfall dauerte zwei Stunden.” (The power cut lasted two hours.) “Nach dem Sturm gab es einen langen Stromausfall.” (After the storm there was a long power cut.) The Strom + Ausfall pattern is one you can read directly: both halves are common, everyday words — so the compound gives itself away.