German

Alternative forms

• sitzen bleiben

Verb

sitzenbleiben ‎(strong, third-person singular simple present bleibt sitzen, past tense blieb sitzen, past participle sitzengeblieben, auxiliary sein)

1. (informal) to stay down (to repeat a school year, not having been moved up a class/grade)

   Sie ist keinmal sitzengeblieben.

   She has never stayed down.

   She hasn′t stayed down, not once.

2. (informal) (dated) to be left on the shelf (to remain unmarried as a woman)

   Jede Eltern hoffen, dass ihre Töchter nicht sitzenbleiben.‎

   Every parents hope that their daughters won′t be left on the shelf.

3. (informal) to be left with, to be sitting on (to find no customer for something)

   Die Händler waren auf ihre Waren sitzengeblieben.‎

   The traders have been left with their products.

4. to be tarnished by, to be a black mark against somebody′s name

   ein Makel, ein Vorwurf bleibt auf jemandem sitzen

   somebody is tarnished by a blemish, an accusation

   a blemish, an accusation is a blackmark against somebody′s name

5. (regional) (of dough) to not prove, to not rise (to not become aerated by the action of yeast)

   Ihm war der Rührkuchen sitzengeblieben.‎

   His sponge cake had not proven.

Usage notes

• In this spelling the verb is exclusively used in the figurative sense. In the above-mentioned alternative spelling it is used in the literal as well as in the figurative sense.^[2]

Conjugation

Derived terms

• Sitzenbleiber m / Sitzenbleiberin f; Sitzenbleiben n

References

1. ↑ In Standard German the pronunciation of the verbal ending -en after /b/ is varying, whereas [-bm̩] is generally more frequently used. (Max Mangold and Dudenredaktion: Duden Aussprachewörterbuch. In: Der Duden in zwölf Bänden. 6th edition. Volume 6, Dudenverlag, Mannheim/Leipzig/Wien/Zürich 2005, ISBN 978-3-411-04066-7, p. 38.)
2. ↑ sitzenbleiben in Duden online