The meaning of the verb geraten

When I first encountered this verb, I thought it would be a past participle of raten - to advise. But then I realised that it was a separate verb that does not appear in the course. According to the Collins dictionary it is quite common but I have looked up its meaning in three different dictionaries and they all say something different. I am finding it very difficult to get to grips with its core meaning and use. Can you help?

Hallo Simon, 

when geraten is not used as the past participle of raten, it is often used in the context of unintentionally getting into a difficult situation or some sort of trouble or panic, for example:

Sie geriet in Schwierigkeiten. She got into difficulties. 

Er geriet in Panik - He got into a panic. 

Das Haus ist in Brand geraten. - The house has caught fire. 

Er gerät oft mit dem Gesetz in Konflikt. - He often gets in trouble with the law. 

Hope this clears things up a bit!

Let me know if you have any further questions :)

Julia

Thank you Julia, that’s very helpful and it gives me the flavour of geraten rather than the over 30 options in the various dictionaries that I checked.

No worries!