Übermitteln

Übermitteln is a German verb that means to convey, transmit, or hand over information, messages, or data from one party to another. It covers both non-material transmissions, such as conveying a message, and physical handovers, such as delivering documents. In everyday language it can also mean reporting or relaying information to authorities or organizations.

Etymology: The verb is formed with the prefix über- meaning across or beyond, combined with mitteln (to convey or mediate). The sense evolved to describe passing something along from sender to recipient, whether information, signals, or documents. The corresponding noun is die Übermittlung (the transmission, conveyance).

Usage and grammar: Übermitteln is a transitive verb. Present tense forms include ich übermittle, du übermittelst, er übermittelt, wir übermitteln, ihr übermittelt, sie übermitteln. The past participle is übermittelt and it uses haben in the perfect: Ich habe die Unterlagen übermittelt. In passive constructions one says Die Unterlagen wurden übermittelt. Common collocations: Daten übermitteln, Informationen übermitteln, Unterlagen übermitteln, Datenübermittlung.

Contexts: In law and administration, übermitteln denotes handing over documents or transmitting official information. In information technology and telecommunications, it is used for data transfer between systems. Semantically close verbs include übertragen, weiterleiten, and mitteilen, but they differ in emphasis (transfer vs. relay vs. inform). The noun form Übermittlung is also used, for example in Datenübermittlung or die Übermittlung personenbezogener Daten.