Herunter

Herunter is a German directional particle that conveys downward movement, often toward the speaker or a lower position. It combines with other elements to form verbs and phrases, functioning both as an adverb and as part of separable verb prefixes. The component is historically related to the particles her (toward this place) and unter (under/down).

In modern usage, herunter appears in two main ways. As a separate adverb, it describes downward movement: Der Schnee fällt herunter. It can also be used with verbs in separable-prefix constructions, where the prefix is split from the stem in main clauses: Ich hole die Zeitung herunter. In compounds such as herunterladen, the prefix forms a single verb whose separable behavior surfaces in conjugation (Ich lade die Datei herunter). With infinitives that include zu, the form becomes herunterzuladen (das Herunterladen der Datei) or the gerundive variant herunterladen.

Common verbs with the prefix herunter include herunterfallen (to fall down), herunterbringen (to bring down/to deliver down), herunterziehen (to pull down), and herunterkommen (to come down). These illustrate the range from physical downward motion (Der Vorhang wird heruntergezogen) to more abstract downward actions (Der Preis fällt herunter). In contrast, hinunter or herab can be used in other contexts, but their nuances depend on perspective and register; beispielsweise, hinunter often emphasizes movement away from the speaker in some contexts, while herunter emphasizes movement toward the speaker or toward a lower spatial position.

See also: prefixes in German, separable-prefix verbs, headed-down movement in German syntax.