überhaupt

adverb
at all, in general
B1

Means 'at all' (often in negations like 'überhaupt nicht' = not at all) and 'in general' or 'actually' for emphasis. It is a modal adverb used to strengthen questions or statements and often appears with negation or interrogatives. No inflection or preposition; purely adverbial.

Examples

Hast du heute überhaupt Zeit, mir zu helfen?
Do you have any time to help me at all today?
Überhaupt ist dieses Restaurant sehr beliebt in der Nachbarschaft.
Overall, this restaurant is very popular in the neighborhood.
Die Nachbarin berichtete, dass sie überhaupt nichts bemerkte.
The neighbor reported that she had noticed nothing at all.

Details

Typemodal

Mnemonics

👁️Picture wrapping everything with a blanket labeled "überhaupt" meaning 'covering everything' (in general).
👂Sounds a bit like English "over-all" → think "at all" or "overall".

Notes

Commonly used for emphasis in questions and negatives (as 'at all') and to make general statements ('in general'/'overall'). Tone and context determine the best English equivalent.

Category

Vocabulary Explorer

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