Verb

ein|fallen

to come to mind, to occur to someone, to collapse

Mir ist eine gute Idee eingefallen.

A good idea occurred to me.

Das alte Dach ist gestern eingefallen.

The old roof collapsed yesterday.

Fällt dir sein Name wieder ein?

Can you recall his name again?

((sth.)) occurs to ((sb.dat)) A solution occurred to me.

((sth.)) collapses The building collapsed.

Synonyms: to occur to (in den Sinn kommen); to collapse (einstürzen)

From 'ein-' (in) and 'fallen' (to fall). Literally 'to fall in'.

Imagine an idea 'falling into' ('einfallen') your mind. For the other meaning, picture a roof 'falling in'.

This page is designed for learning support. Please use it as a learning reference, not as a formal reference.