hilflos
Translation
helpless
Examples
Das Baby war völlig hilflos.
The baby was completely helpless.
Er fühlte sich der Situation hilflos ausgeliefert.
He felt helplessly at the mercy of the situation.
Grammar Patterns
to be/feel ((hilflos)) to be/feel helpless He felt helpless.
to be ((hilflos)) at the mercy of sb./sth. to be helplessly at the mercy of sb./sth. She was helplessly at the mercy of the situation.
Similar Words
machtlos (powerless), ohnmächtig (faint, powerless); Antonyms: selbstständig (independent), stark (strong)
Etymology
Composed of 'Hilfe' (help) and the suffix '-los' (-less). It literally means 'help-less'.
Memory Tips
It's a direct cognate of the English 'helpless'. The German suffix '-los' corresponds to the English '-less'.