adverb
immediately, at once
A1
Sofort is a German temporal adverb meaning immediately or at once. It expresses instant action or urgency (e.g., 'Komm sofort!'). It does not decline or take prepositions. Often used in imperatives and commands, in formal or informal contexts, for immediate responses, payments, or actions.
Examples
Als der Alarm losging, handelten die Mitarbeiter sofort, weil die Sicherheit höchste Priorität hatte.
When the alarm went off, the employees acted immediately because safety had the highest priority.
Er hat die Bestellung sofort bezahlt.
He paid for the order at once.
Komm bitte sofort hierher.
Please come here immediately.
Details
Mnemonics
Imagine a big red button labelled 'SOFORT' that you press to get something immediately.
Think 'so-fort' = 'so' + 'fort' meaning 'so away/at once'.