Ways to say it
| German | IPA |
|---|---|
| heraus | [hɛˈʁaus] (narrow) |
| hinaus | /hɪˈnaʊ̯s/ |
| draußen | /ˈdraʊ̯sən/ |
The words provided describe being away from one's usual place or not being indoors. The form draußen means "outside" and is primarily used to describe objects or people being located outside of a building. In contrast, aus is a common translation for "out" and is used as a preposition to indicate movement out of a specific container or enclosed space, such as "out of the house". Other related terms include außerhalb, which means "outside" or "beyond" and fort, which means "away" or "off" to express the idea of going out or away from a place.
Which one should you use?
The choice of word depends on whether you are describing movement or a stationary state. The forms heraus and hinaus describe the movement of going out. Specifically, hinaus is used when the movement is out of a space and moving away from the speaker's location. The form draußen is used to describe being outside in a stationary state.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The form raus is a common colloquial shortening of both heraus and hinaus. Additionally, raus or hinfort can be used as an interjection to express a demand that someone leave.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
While the main forms are adverbs of direction or location, the preposition aus is used when you need to indicate movement out of a specific container or enclosed space.
Did you know?
- The German word heraus is a linguistic relative of the archaic English word 'hereout'. Both combine a prefix meaning 'hither' or 'here' with a root meaning 'out'.
- To describe a light being 'out' or a fire being 'out', German does not use draußen or raus, but instead uses aus.
- While draußen means 'outside', the related word außen describes the exterior surface of an object, such as the 'outside' of a suitcase.
Examples in context
- Bist du da draußen?Are you out there?This sentence is useful for asking if someone is out there using draußen.Tatoeba #3034071 by pne, translation #2890956 by CK
- Ist Tom da draußen?Is Tom out there?This sentence is useful for asking if Tom is out there using draußen.Tatoeba #6625717 by Felixjp, translation #4401024 by CK
- Pass auf da draußen.Look out there.This sentence is useful for telling someone to look out there using draußen.Tatoeba #6643146 by Felixjp, translation #2249558 by CK
- Ich gehe aus dem Haus.I'm going out of the house.
- Bitte gehen Sie hinaus.Please go out.
- Er schob den Stuhl nach draußen.He pushed the chair outside.
- Lass uns rausgehen!Let's go out!
- Ich bin raus!I'm out!
- Es regnet, wir bleiben besser außerhalb des Waldes.It's raining, let's stay out of the forest.
- Die Kinder spielen draußen.The children are playing outside.
- aus dem Fenster springenJump out of the window
- spazieren gehenGo out for a walk
- 1288 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Felix and Hannah are standing by a closed door.
- FelixHannah, kommst du bitte heraus?Hannah, will you please come out?
- HannahIch komme sofort heraus, Felix.I am coming out immediately, Felix.
- FelixEs ist sehr kalt hier draußen.It is very cold out here.
- HannahIch bin schon fast draußen.I am almost out.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “out” translations and entries heraus, hinaus, draußen, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries draußen, heraus, hinaus, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
