particle
towards here, hither
A2
her-: a directional particle/prefix meaning 'towards here' or 'hither'. Used in separable verbs and compounds (e.g., herkommen, herbringen) to indicate motion toward the speaker. Contrasts with hin- (away from the speaker). Uninflected; functions as discourse particle or directional element in spoken and written German.
Examples
Die Lehrerin erklärte, dass das Präfix 'her-' an vielen Verben die Bedeutung änderte, sodass die Schüler es leichter lernten.
The teacher explained that the prefix 'her-' changed the meaning of many verbs, so the students learned it more easily.
Das Präfix her- zeigt Bewegung zur Sprecherin oder zum Sprecher.
The prefix her- indicates movement toward the speaker.
Das Wort 'her' in 'Komm her!' entspricht dem Präfix her- und bedeutet, hierher zu kommen.
The word 'her' in 'Komm her!' corresponds to the prefix her- and means 'come here'.
Details
Mnemonics
Imagine someone beckoning with their hand and saying 'come here' — picture the hand moving toward the speaker to remember 'her-'.
Sounds like the English word 'her' as in 'come here' — think 'here/her' indicating movement toward you.
Notes
Her- is a separable directional prefix/particle meaning motion toward the speaker. It commonly appears in separable verbs (e.g., 'herkommen', 'herbringen') and contrasts with hin- (motion away). In speech it often appears as 'her' (without the hyphen) and attaches to the verb in different positions depending on sentence structure.