An easy way to expand your vocabulary and build comprehension is to study German prefixes, which can quickly change one word into another. When you think of any German verb, noun, or adjective, you can probably combine it with one or more of the over 75 prefixes in German to create an entirely new term with a unique meaning. Discover which prefixes are commonplace in German conversation and writing, as well as how to use them effectively in sentences.
Table of Contents
What is a prefix in German?
In German, like in English, a prefix is a set of letters placed before a word or another prefix with the intention of changing the word’s meaning. Another option for changing a word’s meaning is to add a German suffix to the end of the word.
Take the prefix un- for example. In both English and German, this prefix can be added before a term to negate it, like saying “not.” The word glücklich (happy) changes to its opposite meaning with this prefix added, resulting in unglücklich (unhappy/not happy).
How many German prefixes are there?
The total number of German prefixes is not known, but there are 75 that are commonly used in conversation and daily life in Germany. So, why the uncertainty? The language uses what linguists refer to as “German morphology,” meaning a system where new German words are formed by combining smaller parts or words.
Rather than being a set list, prefixes in the German language are a tool used to change the meaning of the word. Because of this, many parts of speech in German, such as particles, prepositions, and adverbs, can function like a prefix.
On top of this, German is a highly contextual language, so one prefix can have many meanings depending on the situation it’s used in.
For example, the prefix ver- can mean:
- “wrong,” as in verschreiben (to make a writing mistake)
- “away,” as in vergehen (to go away)
- “completely,” as in verbrennen (to burn completely)
Understanding untrennbare Präfixe (inseparable prefixes) in German
Inseparable German prefixes operate more similarly to prefixes in English, so it’s best to start your studies here. They stay glued to the word they modify regardless of context, so they’re a little easier to form sentences with as you start practicing.
List of common inseparable prefixes in German
These inseparable prefixes attach most often to verbs.
| German Inseparable Prefix | Meaning | Example | English |
| be- | makes a verb directly transitive | beachten | to pay attention to |
| emp- | reception/perception | empfangen | to receive |
| ent- | begin/enter into an activity/to reverse | entdecken | to discover |
| er- | indicated a completed action | ersterben | to die |
| ge- | collective or continuous action | gehören | to belong to |
| hinter- | behind/subterfuge | hintergehen | to deceive |
| miss- | going wrong | missbrauchen | to misuse/to abuse |
| wider- | against/back | widerlegen | to refute/disprove |
| ver- | reverse/make worse/wrong | verkaufen | to sell |
| zer- | breaking into pieces | zerschlagen | to smash to pieces |
Inseparable verb word order rules
Though the German language has a highly flexible syntax, you’ll generally have your prefix verb as the second word of your sentence. This is known as the “second position,” and it goes directly after the subject of your expression.
Like most verbs in German, verbs with inseparable prefixes, also known as untrennbare Verben (inseparable verbs), remain in second place.
- Ich verstehe die Aufgabe. = I understand the task.
- Er beantwortet die E-Mail sofort. = He answers the email immediately.
Conjugating inseparable verbs in the Perfekt
In German, the Perfekt (perfect tense) is the most common tense used to discuss past events. Most iconically, this tense changes the morphology, in this case meaning “the spelling,” of verbs most often by adding the prefix ge-.
Inseparable verbs reject the ge- prefix entirely in the Perfekt. Simply keep the verb as-is, typically either with an -en or -t ending.
- verstanden (to understand)
- Ich habe die Aufgabe sofort verstanden. = I understood the homework immediately
- übersetzen (to translate)
- Sie hat den Text ins Deutsche übersetzt. = She translated the text into German.
Using trennbare Präfixe (separable prefixes) in German
Separable prefixes help form separable verbs, and they require a little more knowledge of German word order to use. This is because these prefixes can “separate” from the term they’re modifying in a sentence and exist on their own, oftentimes at the end of the sentence.
Separable German prefixes list
You will use these prefixes to form separable verbs in German and, as always, modify terms with which you’re likely already familiar.
| German Separable Prefix | Meaning | Example | English |
| an- | at/begin/on/toward | anbauen | to build on/to add onto |
| auf- | open/out/up | aufbrauchen | to use up |
| aus- | out/extended/completely | ausgleichen | to even out |
| auseinander- | apart | auseinanderbrechen | to break apart |
| bei- | along/with | beikommen | to deal with |
| da- | there | dalassen | to leave there |
| ein- | in/into/inward | einatmen | to inhale |
| entgegen- | toward/against | entgegensetzen | to contrast against |
| entlang- | along | entlanglaufen | to walk along |
| fehl- | wrong/false | Fehlplanung | bad planning |
| fest- | firm/fixed | festhalten | to hold on firmly |
| fort- | away/forth/onward | fortbilden | to continue one’s education |
| frei- | free/clear | freisetzen | to set free/release |
| gegenüber- | across from/opposite | gegenübersitzen | to sit across from |
| gleich- | equal | gleichmachen | to make equal |
| heim- | home | heimfahren | to drive home |
| herab- | down from/off from | herabfallen | to fall from |
| heran- | approaching toward | heranbringen | to bring toward |
| herauf- | up from/out of | heraufarbeiten | to work one’s way up |
| heraus- | from/out of | herausziehen | to pull out |
| herbei- | toward over here | herbeilaufen | to come running up |
| herein- | to come in | hereinfallen | to fall into |
| herüber- | over in this direction | herüberschauen | to look over here |
| herum- | around | herumgehen | to walk around |
| herunter- | down/downwards | herunterhandeln | to bargain down |
| hervor- | out from | hervorragen | to stand out from |
| hinab- | down/away from speaker | hinabblicken | to look down |
| hinauf- | upward from speaker | hinaufgehen | to walk up/go upwards |
| hinaus- | from/out of | hinauswerfen | to throw out |
| hinein- | into | hineindürfen | to be allowed into |
| hinunter- | down/away from speaker | hinunterlassen | to lower down |
| hinweg- | beyond/past | hinwegkommen | to get over something |
| hinzu- | adding something | hinzugesellen | to join in |
| hoch- | upward motion or position | hochklettern | to climb up |
| los- | beginning of an action | losfahren | to drive off |
| mit- | along/with | mithelfen | to help with |
| nach- | following/reduction | nachfolgen | to follow |
| nebenher- | alongside of | nebenhergehen | to walk alongside |
| vor- | before/forward/pre- | vorbereiten | to prepare before |
| voraus- | in advance | vorausberechnen | to calculate in advance |
| vorbei- | past | vorbeilassen | to let by |
| weg- | away | wegblasten | to blow away |
| weiter- | further | weitermachen | to carry on |
| zu- | closed/toward/upon | zudrücken | to press shut |
| zusammen- | together | zusammenbauen | to assemble together |
Separable verbs in German and their word order rules
For trennbare Verben (separable verbs), the rules for word order are more involved. In main clauses, your main verb will remain in second position, but your separable prefix of choice will slip away from the verb and be placed at the end of the clause.
- aufstehen (to wake/get up)
- Ich stehe morgen früh auf. = I will get up early tomorrow.
- anrufen (to call)
- Sie ruft ihren Freund an. = She calls her boyfriend.
Within subordinate clauses, however, your separable verb and its prefix will reunite and relocate together to the end of the clause.
- aufstehen (to wake/get up)
- Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich früh aufstehen muss. = I am staying home because I have to get up early.
- anrufen (to call)
- Sie sagt, dass er seine Freundin anruft. = She says that he calls his girlfriend.
Conjugating separable verbs in the Perfekt
Again, the Perfekt (perfect tense) is most commonly used to discuss past events, and you often add the prefix ge-.
For separable verbs, you’ll add your separable prefix before the ge-, followed by the verb itself.
- aufmachen (to open) → aufgemacht (opened)
- Wir haben das Fenster aufgemacht. = We opened the window.
- anrufen (to call) → angerufen (called)
- Ich habe meine Mutter angerufen. = I called my mother.
German prefixes that can be either separable or inseparable (dual prefixes)
Given the highly contextual nature of German, there are a few prefixes that, depending on the situation, can be either separable or inseparable. These are known as doppelte Präfixe or “dual prefixes.”
- durch- (through)
- über- (over)
- um- (around
- unter- (under)
- voll- (completely/fully)
- wieder- (again)
An excellent rule of thumb to fall back on here is that these doppelte Präfixe are generally separable when used in the literal, physical sense. Otherwise, they’re typically inseparable when used in an abstract or figurative meaning.
- übergehen (to literally go across, separable)
- Wir gehen heute den Fluss über. = We go across the river today.
- übergehen (to ignore, inseparable as an abstract concept)
- Er übergeht meine Frage. = He ignores my question.
Prefixes in German vs. English
While the German and English languages both use prefixes to alter the meaning of a given word, the two tongues have very different approaches to how they’re used in grammar. In English, you can generally feel confident plopping a prefix in front of a term without having to adjust much else in the sentence.
The biggest difference in German grammar is that prefixes can move around. In plenty of cases, they don’t even have to be directly attached to the word they’re modifying! Instead, they can slip off to the end of the sentence, which never happens in English. This means that prefixes in German are a matter of learning word order rules as well as building out your vocabulary.
Key takeaways about German prefixes
While English and German both use prefixes to adjust meaning, German has a unique system for developing and using prefixes in communication.
- Prefixes are used at the start of a word to modify the term’s meaning.
- German prefixes are divided into two groups: separable and inseparable. However, there are a few that can be both.
- Separable verbs use separable prefixes, which, when used in a sentence, often relocate the prefix to the end of the sentence.
- There’s no set list of all German prefixes, as the concept is more of a system that generates tools that modify terms, rather than a fixed vocabulary.
0 Commentaires