Verhelfen

Verhelfen is a German verb meaning to help someone achieve something by enabling or facilitating it. The common construction is jemandem zu etwas verhelfen, which translates to helping someone obtain or reach something. The phrase often emphasizes enabling an outcome rather than providing general assistance.

Grammatically, verhelfen takes a dative object for the person and a zu-clause or nominal complement for the goal. For example: Sie hat ihm zu einem Job verholfen. The verb is combined with the auxiliary haben in the perfect: Sie hat ihm zu einem Job verholfen. In the present tense the forms are ich verhelfe, du verhilfst, er verhilft, wir verhelfen, ihr verhelft, sie verhelfen.

Usage notes: verhelfen is somewhat more formal or literary than the simpler helfen, and it is commonly found in journalism, business, and legal contexts. It describes deliberate assistance that enables another person to achieve something, such as a success, a position, or an opportunity. The meaning can be positive or neutral, but context can also imply opportunistic or instrumental assistance.

Related terms include ermoeglichen (to enable), unterstuetzen (to support), and dazu verhelfen (to contribute to someone’s attainment). An antonymal sense can be conveyed with verbs such as verhindern or hindern, which imply blocking rather than enabling.

Examples:

- Die Kontakte des Investors verhalfen dem Start-up zu einer Finanzierung.

- Durch ihr Netzwerk verhalf er ihr zu einer Anstellung.

Verhelfen remains a precise, formal way to describe assistance aimed at helping someone achieve a specific goal.