Direktionale Adverbien: hin und her

Q: What is the difference between hin and her?

hin describes movement away from the speaker's current position (Wohin?), while her describes movement toward the speaker's current position (Woher?). Example: Komm herein ! (come in, toward me) vs. Ich gehe hinein . (I go in, away from where I am).

Q: What are the short forms of hinein, hinaus, hinauf?

The short forms are: rein (hinein/herein), raus (hinaus/heraus), rauf (hinauf/herauf), runter (hinunter/herunter), rüber (hinüber/herüber). These are very common in everyday spoken German.

Q: How do I know whether to use hin or her in a sentence?

Ask: where is the speaker right now? If the movement goes away from the speaker's position, use hin : Ich gehe hinaus (I go out). If the movement comes toward the speaker's position, use her : Komm heraus ! (come out, to me).

At CEFR level A2, you learn the directional adverbs hin (away from the speaker) and her (toward the speaker), their compound forms (hinein/herein, hinaus/heraus, etc.), and the colloquial short forms used in everyday speech: rein, raus, rauf, runter, rüber.

Kernregel hin = movement away from the speaker (Wohin?). her = movement toward the speaker (Woher?). Colloquial short forms: rein, raus, rauf, runter, rüber.

Direktionale Adverbien: hin & her

hin = movement away from the speaker. her = movement toward the speaker.

Richtung	hin (weg)	her (hierher)
hinein / herein	Er geht hinein. (in etw. hinein)	Kommen Sie herein!
hinaus / heraus	Sie läuft hinaus.	Er kommt heraus.
hinauf / herauf	Wir gehen hinauf.	Komm herauf!
hinunter / herunter	Das Kind klettert hinunter.	Pass auf, wenn du herunterkommst!
hinüber / herüber	Wir schwimmen hinüber.	Komm herüber!

Umgangssprache: Kurzformen

rein, raus, rauf, runter, rüber

In everyday speech, the long forms are often shortened:

herein / hinein → rein
heraus / hinaus → raus
herauf / hinauf → rauf
herunter / hinunter → runter
herüber / hinüber → rüber

Beispiele

Komm rein! (= herein)
Geh raus! (= hinaus)
Steig rauf! (= hinauf)
Spring nicht runter! (= hinunter)
Komm rüber! (= herüber)

Weitere wichtige Adverbien

Adverb	Bedeutung	Beispiel
dorthin	to that place	Fahr dorthin!
hierher	to here	Komm hierher!
weg	away	Geh weg!
zurück	back	Komm zurück!
weiter	further, onward	Gehen Sie weiter.

Hinweis: Wohin gehst du? → hin-adverb (away from the speaker). Woher kommst du? → her-adverb (toward the speaker). In colloquial speech, the short forms (rein, raus...) are most common.

Häufig gestellte Fragen – FAQ

What is the difference between hin and her?

hin describes movement away from the speaker's current position (Wohin?), while her describes movement toward the speaker's current position (Woher?). Example: Komm herein! (come in, toward me) vs. Ich gehe hinein. (I go in, away from where I am).

What are the short forms of hinein, hinaus, hinauf?

The short forms are: rein (hinein/herein), raus (hinaus/heraus), rauf (hinauf/herauf), runter (hinunter/herunter), rüber (hinüber/herüber). These are very common in everyday spoken German.

Do the short forms (rein, raus...) replace hin- or her-?

Both. The short forms are neutral and do not distinguish hin/her: Komm rein! can mean herein (toward the speaker) or hinein (into something). Context makes the meaning clear.

How do I know whether to use hin or her in a sentence?

Ask: where is the speaker right now? If the movement goes away from the speaker's position, use hin: Ich gehe hinaus (I go out). If the movement comes toward the speaker's position, use her: Komm heraus! (come out, to me).