hereinkommen

Hereinkommen is a German verb meaning to come in or to enter, typically into a room, building, or other interior space. It conveys the act of moving from outside into a place where the speaker is or where the action is taking place. The verb is commonly used in invitations and requests, as in asking permission to enter or welcoming someone who is entering.

The verb is formed from the prefix herein- combined with kommen (to come). It is a separable-prefix verb, so in the infinitive it is written as hereinkommen, but in finite tenses the prefix is separated: ich komme herein, du kommst herein, er kommt herein, etc. In the past tense, the usual construction uses the auxiliary sein: ich bin hereingekommen; the simple past is ich kam herein; the perfect tense can also be expressed as ich bin hereingekommen.

Usage notes and variants: hereinkommen is used when the entering action brings someone into the space of the speaker or another specified location. A closely related verb, hineingehen, emphasizes going into a space from the outside, and sein-style perfect forms differ accordingly. The imperative forms are Komm herein! (informal) and Kommen Sie herein! (formal).

Examples:

- Darf ich hereinkommen? (May I come in?)

- Komm herein, es ist kalt draußen. (Come in, it’s cold outside.)

- Wir kommen gleich herein. (We’ll come in shortly.)

- Er kam langsam herein und setzte sich. (He came in slowly and sat down.)

See also: here – usage with other verbs of movement, hineingehen, hereaufkommen.