Special Group of Separable Prefixes -

Special Group of Separable Prefixes: "hin-" and "her-" in German

Why are these Prefixes: “hin-” and “her-” important?

The separable prefixes “hin-“ and “her-“ belong to a special category of directional prefixes in German. They indicate movement or direction related to the speaker or a specific reference point. Mastering their usage allows for more precise descriptions of spatial movement, mental processes, and figurative expressions in German.

The Meaning of “hin-” and “her-“

“hin-“ → Indicates movement away from the speaker or a point of reference.

“her-“ → Indicates movement toward the speaker or a point of reference.

These prefixes combine with verbs, particularly those describing movement, to provide detailed spatial descriptions.

Examples:

Geh hin! → Away from the speaker
Go there!

Komm her!→ Toward the speaker
Come here!

Er schaut hin.
He looks over there.

Sie kommt her.
She is coming here.

Bring das Buch bitte hin!
Please take the book there!

Er legt das Handy hin.
He puts the phone down (there).

Komm bitte her!
Please come here!

Er bringt die Tasche her.
He brings the bag here.

Hol mir einen Stuhl her!
Bring me a chair (over here)!

Sie läuft schnell her.
She runs over here quickly.

Der Hund kommt sofort her.
The dog comes here immediately.

Verbs with “hin-” and “her-“

Many verbs can take both “hin-“ and “her-“, with their meanings shifting based on direction. This is particularly useful for describing movement up, down, in, out, and across spaces.

Directional Motion Verbs with “hin-” and “her-“

Verb (Base Form)	hin- (Away from Speaker)	her- (Toward Speaker)	Meaning
gehen (to go)	Hingehen	hergehen	to go (away from the speaker / toward the speaker)
fahren (to drive)	Hinfahren	herfahren	to drive (there / here)
laufen (to run)	Hinlaufen	herlaufen	to run (away from the speaker / toward the speaker)
werfen (to throw)	Hinwerfen	herwerfen	to throw (away from the speaker / toward the speaker)
bringen (to bring)	Hinbringen	herbringen	to bring (there / here)

Examples:

Kannst du mir das Buch herbringen?
Can you bring me the book here?

Bitte bring die Unterlagen sofort her!
Please bring the documents here immediately!

Er bringt mir einen Kaffee her.
He brings me a coffee (over here).

Ich fahre morgen nach Hamburg hin.
I’m driving to Hamburg tomorrow.

Wir fahren am Wochenende zu unseren Freunden hin.
We are driving to our friends (there) on the weekend.

Sie ist schon früh zur Arbeit hingefahren.
She drove to work (there) early.

Sie läuft die Straße hinunter.
She runs down the street away from me.

Das Kind läuft schnell zum Park hin.
The child runs quickly to the park (there).

Er ist zur Bushaltestelle hingelaufen.
He walked to the bus stop (there).

Er wirft mir den Ball her.
He throws the ball toward me.

Wirf mir bitte den Stift her!
Please throw the pen to me (over here)!

Der Torwart wirft den Ball weit hin.
The goalkeeper throws the ball far away.

Verbs Describing Vertical Movement (Up & Down)

hin- (Away from Speaker)	her- (Toward Speaker)	Meaning
Hinaufgehen	heraufkommen	to go up / to come up (away from the speaker / toward the speaker)
Hinaufsteigen	Heraufsteigen	to climb up (away from the speaker / toward the speaker)
Hinuntergehen	herunterkommen	to go up / to come down (away from the speaker / toward the speaker)

Examples:

hinauf (away from the speaker – up)

Er steigt den Berg hinauf.
He climbs up the mountain (away from the speaker).

Die Kinder laufen die Treppe hinauf.
The children run up the stairs (away from us).

Der Rauch steigt in den Himmel hinauf.
The smoke rises up into the sky (away from here).

Ich gehe die Treppe hinauf.
I am going up the stairs away from where we are now.

Sie geht schnell die Leiter hinauf.
She goes up the ladder (away from us).

Der Junge ist den Turm hinaufgegangen.
The boy went up the tower (away from the speaker).

herauf (toward the speaker – up)

Sie kommt den Hügel herauf.
She is coming up the hill (toward me).

Der Nachbar steigt die Treppe herauf.
The neighbour is climbing up the stairs (toward us).

Das Flugzeug kommt langsam herauf.
The airplane is coming up (toward us).

Er kommt die Treppe herauf.
He is coming up the stairs toward me.

Die Katze kommt die Mauer herauf.
The cat is coming up the wall (toward me).

Mein Bruder kam den Hügel herauf.
My brother came up the hill (toward us).

hinunter (away from the speaker – down)

Er springt die Stufen hinunter.
He jumps down the steps (away from here).

Wir fahren ins Tal hinunter.
We are driving down into the valley (away from the speaker).

Die Sonne geht hinter dem Berg hinunter.
The sun goes down behind the mountain (away from us).

Wir gingen langsam den Berg hinunter.
We walked down the hill away from our previous position.

Die Wanderer gehen vorsichtig den Hang hinunter.
The hikers are walking down the slope (away from here).

Das Kind lief die Treppe hinunter.
The child ran down the stairs (away from the speaker).

herunter (toward the speaker – down)

Komm sofort vom Dach herunter!
Come down from the roof immediately (toward me)!

Der Apfel fällt vom Baum herunter.
The apple falls down from the tree (toward us).

Sie kommt langsam die Treppe herunter.
She is coming down the stairs (toward me).

Komm bitte herunter!
Come down here, please!

Der Vogel kommt vom Dach herunter.
The bird is coming down from the roof (toward us).

Sie klettert schnell vom Baum herunter.
She climbs down from the tree (toward the speaker).

Combination of “hin-” and “her-” (Back-and-Forth Motion)

When “hin-” and “her-“ are combined, they express repetitive motion, fluctuation, or indecision.

Expression	Meaning
hin und her gehen	to walk back and forth
hin und her fahren	to drive back and forth
hin und her überlegen	to think back and forth (to weigh options)
hin und her schaukeln	to swing back and forth

Examples:

Er geht nervös hin und her.
He walks nervously back and forth.

Der Vater läuft im Zimmer hin und her.
The father walks back and forth in the room.

Sie ging vor der Tür unruhig hin und her.
She walked restlessly back and forth in front of the door.

Ich habe lange hin und her überlegt.
I thought long and hard, going back and forth between options.

Wir haben tagelang hin und her überlegt.
We thought back and forth for days.

Er überlegt noch hin und her, ob er die Stelle annehmen soll.
He is still weighing the options about whether to accept the job.

Der Wind weht die Blätter hin und her.
The wind blows the leaves back and forth.

Das Boot wird von den Wellen hin und her geworfen.
The boat is thrown back and forth by the waves.

Das Kind schaukelt fröhlich hin und her.
The child swings happily back and forth.

Fixed Expressions with “hin-” and “her-“

Some idiomatic expressions frequently use “hin-” and “her-” in everyday speech.

Expression	Meaning
Wie dem auch sei, hin oder her…	Be that as it may…
Kein Hin und Her mehr!	No more back and forth! (Make a decision!)
Er weiß nicht, wo es hingeht.	He doesn’t know where he’s going.
Es ist schon lange hin.	It’s long gone.

Examples:

Wie dem auch sei, hin oder her, wir müssen jetzt handeln.
Be that as it may, we must act now.

Wie dem auch sei, hin oder her, die Frist läuft morgen ab.
Be that as it may, the deadline expires tomorrow.

Kein Hin und Her mehr! Entscheide dich endlich.
No more back and forth! Finally make a decision.

Wir brauchen eine klare Antwort – kein Hin und Her mehr!
We need a clear answer – no more back and forth!

Er weiß nicht, wo es hingeht, weder beruflich noch privat.
He doesn’t know where he’s going, neither professionally nor personally.

Ohne Plan weiß man oft nicht, wo es hingeht.
Without a plan, one often doesn’t know where one is going.

Die guten alten Zeiten sind leider schon lange hin.
The good old days are unfortunately long gone.

Meine Angst vor der Prüfung ist jetzt hin.
My fear of the exam is gone now.