schief|gehen
Translation
to go wrong, to fail
Examples
Der Plan ist schief gegangen.
The plan went wrong.
Hoffentlich geht bei der Prüfung nichts schief.
Hopefully, nothing goes wrong in the exam.
Grammar Patterns
((sth.)) goes wrong ((sth.)) goes wrong The plan went wrong.
Similar Words
Synonyms: misslingen (to fail), fehlschlagen (to miscarry); Antonyms: klappen (to work out), gelingen (to succeed)
Etymology
Literally 'to go crookedly', from 'schief' (crooked, askew) + 'gehen' (to go).
Memory Tips
Imagine a project that was supposed to go straight ahead but instead 'goes crooked' ('schief gehen') and ends up in failure.