This is the 1992nd most frequent German word.
gestohlen
"Gestohlen" means "stolen" in English.
In this sentence, 'gestohlen' is used as the past participle of the verb 'stehlen.' It functions as part of the perfect tense to indicate a completed action of stealing in the past.
Der Dieb hat mein Fahrrad gestohlen.
The thief stole my bicycle.
Here, 'gestohlen' is used in the passive voice to describe the action that happened to the subject (the painting) without specifying the agent performing the action.
Gestern wurde eine wertvolle Gemälde gestohlen.
A valuable painting was stolen yesterday.
In this example, 'gestohlen' expresses a metaphorical usage of 'steal,' applying the concept of theft to intellectual property or ideas.