Durchliefen

Durchliefen is the Präteritum (simple past) form of the German verb durchlaufen. The base verb durchlaufen combines the prefix durch- with laufen (to run, to travel, to proceed). The meaning depends on context: it can refer to physically passing through something, such as a tunnel or a city; it can describe undergoing or completing a process or series of steps; or it can mean iterating through items, such as a list or a dataset.

Usage and senses

In physical terms, durchlaufen describes moving from one point to another along a route, for example durchlaufen einen Tunnel or durchlaufen eine Stadtroute. In procedural or experiential contexts, it conveys undergoing a process or completing stages, as in eine Prüfung durchlaufen or einen Prozess durchlaufen. In computing and data handling, it is used to mean iterating over elements, for instance eine Liste durchlaufen oder eine Schleife durchlaufen.

Etymology and grammar

The word is formed from durch- (through) and laufen (to run). It is a separable-prefix verb; in many present-tense constructions the prefix may appear separated (Ich laufe durch den Park) or kept with the verb in less common variants (Ich durchlaufe den Prozess). In Präteritum, the verb inflects irregularly: ich durchlief, du durchliefst, er durchlief, wir durchliefen, ihr durchliefet, sie durchliefen. The past participle, used with haben to form the perfect, is durchlaufen (hat durchlaufen).

Related terms

Nouns such as Durchlauf (a run-through, throughput) and Durchlaufzeit (throughput time) are closely related. The concept also features in phrases like eine Liste(n) durchlaufen or einen Test durchlaufen, indicating a complete traversal or execution from start to finish.