01
heraus
out
Expresses movement from inside to outside, often toward the speaker. It is used to show that someone or something is leaving a place.
example
Komm bitte aus dem kalten Wasser heraus!
Please come out of the cold water!
heraus
out
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Meanings
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Usage tips
Word structure
The word is made up of 'her' and 'aus'. 'Her' describes movement toward the speaker, while 'aus' indicates movement from inside to outside. So 'heraus' literally means 'out of something toward me'.
EXAMPLE
Sie rief mir aus dem Haus zu: „Komm doch mal kurz heraus!“
She called to me from the house: 'Come out here for a moment!'
Colloquial form
In spoken language and informal texts, 'heraus' is almost always shortened to 'raus'. This short form is very common and sounds more natural in everyday speech.
EXAMPLE
Gehen wir raus an die frische Luft?
Shall we go out into the fresh air?
Use as a verb prefix
'Heraus' is often the separable prefix of verbs such as 'herauskommen' (to come out), 'herausschauen' (to look out), or 'herausfinden' (to find out). In a main clause, the prefix stands at the end.
EXAMPLE
Endlich kam die Sonne hinter den Wolken heraus.
Finally, the sun came out from behind the clouds.
Expressing motivation
The construction 'aus [noun] heraus' is used to emphasize the reason or motivation for an action. The noun is always in the dative.
EXAMPLE
Sie hat ihm aus reiner Freundlichkeit heraus geholfen.
She helped him out of pure kindness.
Fixed expression
The demand 'Heraus mit ...!' (out with ...!) is a fixed expression used to forcefully ask someone to say or hand over something. The best-known form is 'Heraus mit der Sprache!' (out with it!) when someone hesitates to tell something.
EXAMPLE
Na los, heraus mit dem Geheimnis!
Come on, out with the secret!
Compare with
heraus vs aus
from / out
'aus' and 'heraus' are closely related when something comes from inside to outside. 'aus' is the simple preposition and is used with the place: 'aus dem Haus' (out of the house), 'aus der Tasche' (out of the bag/pocket). 'heraus' is an adverb and emphasizes the movement outward, often toward the speaker. In the form 'aus ... heraus', 'heraus' can also emphasize a motivation or situation more strongly, for example 'aus Angst heraus' (out of fear). The words can be confused because both show an origin or an inside space. Most of the time, the rule is: 'aus' names the source, while 'heraus' makes the movement or inner reason clearer.
heraus
Ich habe den Brief aus der Schublade herausgeholt.
I took the letter out of the drawer.
aus
Zum Üben schreibt Lisa Sätze aus dem Lehrbuch ab.
For practice, Lisa copies sentences from the textbook.
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