vorherzusagen

Vorherzusagen is a German verb meaning to predict something in advance or to forecast beforehand. It denotes the act of making a claim about a future event before it occurs, often based on data, models, or informed reasoning rather than conjecture. The term is primarily used in formal, analytical, or technical contexts such as science, economics, or risk assessment.

Etymology and usage notes: the verb is formed from the element vorher meaning “beforehand” and the verb zustagen meaning “to say” or “to promise.” In practice, vorherzusagen is closely related to other German terms for forecasting, such as vorhersagen (to forecast) and voraussehen (to foresee). While vorherzusagen exists and is understood, it tends to appear more in written or specialized language, with vorhersagen being the more common everyday counterpart.

Grammar and construction: vorherzusagen governs a direct object in the accusative, typically a development, outcome, or trend. It is used in clauses such as: “Es ist schwierig, den Verlauf vorherzusagen,” or “Der Analyst versuchte, die Marktentwicklung vorherzusagen.” The infinitive can also appear in a zu-infinitive construction, as in “Es ist unmöglich, vorherzusagen, wie sich die Lage entwickeln wird.” The noun forms related to the concept are Vorhersage or Prognose, both denoting a specific forecast or prediction.

See also: Vorhersage, Prognose, Prognostik, Vorsehen. Related verbs include vorhersagen and voraussehen, which describe similar but slightly different nuances of predicting or anticipating future events.