verb

poltern

clatter

Sich laut und schwer bewegen oder mit viel Lärm sprechen.

Definition & meaning

The verb poltern has two primary meanings in German:

To make a loud, crashing noise: It refers to the sound of heavy objects falling, rolling, or bumping against something. For example, if a stack of boxes falls down a flight of stairs, the resulting loud, chaotic noise is described as poltern.
To bluster or rant: It describes a person behaving or speaking in a loud, aggressive, or boisterous manner. When someone "polters," they are often complaining loudly or losing their temper in a noisy way, though it often implies a certain lack of real substance or actual threat behind the noise.

Grammar & Word origin

The word poltern is a weak verb. Its principal parts are poltert, polterte, and hat/ist gepoltert.

The choice of auxiliary verb depends on the context:

It uses haben when focusing on the action of making noise (e.g., "Er hat laut an die Tür gepoltert" - He banged loudly on the door).
It uses sein when describing a movement resulting in noise (e.g., "Der Stein ist den Hang hinuntergepoltert" - The rock tumbled down the slope).

Etymologically, poltern is an onomatopoeic word, meaning its sound mimics the noise it describes. It is the root of the internationally known word Poltergeist, which literally translates to a "rumbling" or "noisy spirit."