durcheinander|bringen
Translation
to confuse, to mix up, to mess up, to fluster
Examples
Der Wind hat meine Papiere durcheinandergebracht.
The wind messed up my papers.
Seine Frage brachte mich völlig durcheinander.
His question confused me completely.
Grammar Patterns
((sth.)) durcheinanderbringen (to mix sth. up) The wind mixed up my papers.
((sb.)) durcheinanderbringen (to confuse sb.) His question confused me.
Similar Words
Synonyms: verwirren (to confuse), vermischen (to mix); Antonyms: ordnen (to order), sortieren (to sort)
Etymology
From 'durcheinander' (muddled, in a mess) + 'bringen' (to bring). Literally 'to bring into a mess'.
Memory Tips
Remember it as 'bringing' ('bringen') something into a state of 'muddle' ('durcheinander'). This applies to both physical objects and people's thoughts.