hersagen

Hersagen is a German verb meaning to foretell or prophesy future events. It denotes the act of communicating a forecast or prophecy about what will happen, often implying certainty or authority. The term is largely literary or archaic in modern German and is less common in everyday speech; more neutral and common alternatives are vorhersagen or voraussagen, while prophezeien emphasizes prophetic or divine attribution.

The verb is formed with the prefix her- attached to sagen (to say). It is attested since the early modern period and is typically used in contexts relating to oracles, seers, or biblical or classical texts. The prefix connotes directing speech toward the future or toward an audience.

Hersagen carries a sense of someone proclaiming the future as true, sometimes with a fateful or mystical coloring. It is often associated with oracular statements, prophetic pronunciations, or literary expressions. In secular contexts, speakers tend to use vorhersagen or voraussagen to avoid the archaic connotation. Prophezeien is another related term, typically used when the source is considered divine or inspired.

See also: Prophecy, Prophet, Orakel, Vorhersage, Zukunft.