hinterher

Hinterher is a German adverb that primarily means "afterwards" or "subsequently." It is used to indicate that an event follows another in time or sequence, or to describe following someone physically in pursuit. In everyday speech, it is common in phrases like "Ich gehe hinterher" (I'll go after him) or "Wir liefen ihnen hinterher" (We ran after them).

Origin and function: The word is formed from hinter ("behind") and her, a directional particle used in German to express movement toward the speaker or toward a point in time. As a temporal adverb, hinterher often appears after a clause to reference what happened later, e.g., "Wir gingen ins Theater, und hinterher gab es Kaffee."

Usage notes: Hinterher is not capitalized unless it begins a sentence or is used as a title. It is versatile in both spoken and written German and occurs with verbs of motion as a particle or with phrasal verbs such as hinterherlaufen.

See also: später, nachher; hinterherlaufen.