abholen

Abholen is a German verb meaning to pick up, fetch, or collect someone or something. It is a separable prefix verb formed from ab- plus holen; in ordinary main clauses the prefix is separated, as in Ich hole dich um acht Uhr ab. In the perfect tense the past participle is abgeholt and is used with the auxiliary haben: Ich habe dich abgeholt.

Common uses include picking up a person from a location (for example a child from school or a friend at the train station) and collecting items or packages (retrieving a parcel at a post office or counter, or picking up groceries). It also appears in logistics and service contexts as a noun: Abholung denotes the act of collecting or pickup, such as Paketabholung or Abholort.

Related terms and phrases include Abholauftrag (pickup order), Abholzeit or Abholtermin (pickup time/date), Abholschein (pickup slip), and Abholservice (pickup service). It contrasts with liefern or ausliefern (to deliver) and abgeben (to hand over). In everyday language, Abholen is used for both personal arrangements and commercial processes, ranging from a family member meeting someone at the airport to a company coordinating the collection of goods.

Notes on usage: as a separable verb, the prefix ab- typically moves to the end of the clause in simple present and past tense constructions, while the participle form abgeholt is used with perfect tense. The noun Abholung is common in logistics and retail to refer to the act or arrangement of collection.