adjective
recently, lately
B1
Means recently or lately; a temporal adverb (also used adjectivally) to describe actions/events in the near past. Not gradable (no comparative/superlative) and not a participle. Common synonyms: kürzlich ≈ vor kurzem, neulich. Neutral register; frequent in written and spoken German.
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Ich habe dich kürzlich in der Stadt gesehen.
I saw you in town recently.
Obwohl das Ereignis kürzlich stattfand, diskutierten Experten noch lange über die Folgen.
Although the event occurred recently, experts discussed the consequences for a long time.
Kürzlich hat das Museum eine neue Ausstellung eröffnet.
The museum opened a new exhibition lately.
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VOCABULARY.DETAILS.MNEMONICS
Imagine a calendar with a date circled 'just a short while ago'
Sounds like 'curt-lich' → think 'a short time ago (short = curt)'
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.NOTES
kürzlich is often used adverbially to mean 'recently' or 'lately'. It is less commonly used in comparative/superlative forms, so it's typically treated as a temporal adverb in usage.