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"abhandenkommen"

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Definition: to go missing, disappear, be lost

abhandenkommen (v.i., sein) to go missing, disappear, be lost

Note: Under German spelling reform, the infinitive and past participle of this separable verb are each written as one word, but the (old) split abhanden (ge)kommen spelling is still common. This intransitive verb is used with a dative personal pronoun. See the examples below.

Pronunciation: ahb-HAHN-den-KOMM-en
Examples:

Die Karten sind mir abhandengekommen.
I've lost my tickets. - I don't know where my tickets are.
Er stellte auch einmal einen Detektiv an, um das Handy seiner Frau wiederzufinden, das ihr abhandengekommen war.
He once even hired a detective to find the cell phone his wife had lost.

Related: das Abhandenkommen disappearance, loss

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