Wiederkehrende

Wiederkehrende is a German adjective form used to express recurrence or repetition, meaning something that occurs again or at regular intervals. It is derived from the verb wiederkehren (to return again) with the suffix -end, forming the present participle wiederkehrend, which is used as an adjective and then inflected to agree with the noun it modifies.

As an attributive adjective, wiederkehrende is declined according to gender, number, and case of the noun it describes. Common usage includes phrases such as die wiederkehrende Frage, der wiederkehrende Traum, die wiederkehrenden Ereignisse. Examples include ein wiederkehrender Fehler (a recurring error), wiederkehrende Zyklen (recurring cycles), and wiederkehrende Infektionen (recurrent infections). In neuter singular with a definite article the form is das wiederkehrende Muster; with no article and in the neuter singular it is wiederkehrendes Muster. In feminine singular and plural forms, the same base form wiederkehrende appears in several cases.

In practice, wiederkehrende is used across different domains to denote patterns, phenomena, or events that reappear over time. It contrasts with wiederholen, which means to repeat something, and with Wiederholung, the noun for repetition or recurrence. The term is common in everyday language as well as in scientific, medical, and literary contexts, where it helps describe regularities, cycles, or relapsing conditions.

Etymologically, wiederkehrende combines wieder-, meaning again, with kehren, meaning to turn or return, yielding a concept of turning back or returning again. The word thus conveys the idea of repetition or ongoing recurrence in a concise, widely understood form.