Breakdown of Egal, wie schnell du läufst, du verläufst dich irgendwo in diesem Labyrinth.
du
you (informal singular)
schnell
fast, quickly
in
in
wie
how
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
laufen
to walk / to run (steady pace, jog)
egal
all the same, not mattering
irgendwo
somewhere
das Labyrinth
the labyrinth
sich verlaufen
to get lost
Questions & Answers about Egal, wie schnell du läufst, du verläufst dich irgendwo in diesem Labyrinth.
How does the "Egal, wie..." structure work here?
Egal literally means "equal" or "regardless," and when you pair it with a question word like wie (how), it translates to "No matter how...". The phrase wie schnell du läufst acts as a subordinate clause, which is why the conjugated verb läufst goes to the very end of that section.
Why is the word order du verläufst instead of verläufst du after the comma?
Normally, a subordinate clause takes up position one, forcing the main clause's verb into position two (right after the comma). However, Egal clauses are often treated as completely separate "add-ons" to the sentence rather than an integrated first block. Because it doesn't count as position one, the main clause starts fresh with the subject: du verläufst dich.
Are läufst and verläufst related?
Yes! Laufen means "to run" or "to walk". Adding the prefix ver- and making it reflexive gives us sich verlaufen, which means "to get lost". The prefix ver- often adds a sense of doing something wrongly, so here it gives the idea of "walking wrongly" or taking a wrong turn.
Why is it in diesem Labyrinth (dative) rather than accusative?
In is a two-way preposition. You use the accusative case for a destination ("where to?") and the dative case for a location ("where at?"). Since you are getting lost within the maze, and the word irgendwo (somewhere) emphasizes a static location rather than a destination, it takes the dative case.
Learn Egal, wie schnell du läufst, du verläufst dich irgendwo in diesem Labyrinth and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free