01
herholen
to fetch
To get something or someone from another place and bring them here to the speaker.
example
Kannst du mir bitte mal den Hammer aus dem Keller herholen?
Could you please fetch me the hammer from the basement?
herholen
to fetch
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Meanings
Usage tips
Separable verb
'Herholen' (to fetch/bring here) is a separable verb. In a main clause, the prefix 'her' stands at the end of the sentence. It separates from the stem verb 'holen' (to get/fetch).
EXAMPLE
Holst du mir bitte die Zeitung aus dem Briefkasten her?
Could you please fetch me the newspaper from the mailbox?
Directional particle 'her'
The prefix 'her-' always expresses movement toward the speaker. 'Herholen' (to fetch/bring here) therefore means to get something from another place and bring it to the speaker.
EXAMPLE
Ich bin oben im Büro, kannst du mir meinen Kaffee herholen?
I'm upstairs in the office; can you fetch me my coffee?
Sentence structure with dative
Very often with this verb, a person in the dative is added to say for whom something is being fetched. The structure is: jemandem (dative) etwas (accusative) herholen.
EXAMPLE
Kannst du mir die Leiter aus dem Garten herholen?
Can you fetch me the ladder from the garden?
Register: colloquial
The verb 'herholen' (to fetch/bring here) is typical of spoken language and informal everyday situations. It sounds very natural in everyday requests.
EXAMPLE
Warte kurz, ich hole nur schnell meine Jacke her.
Wait a second, I'll just quickly fetch my jacket.
Compare with
herholen vs bringen
to bring
'bringen' and 'herholen' both have to do with movement to a place. 'bringen' generally means that someone or something is transported or accompanied from one place to another. The direction is not automatically 'to me' or 'to here'. 'herholen' is more precise: someone gets a person or thing from another place and brings it here, that is, to the speaker or to the place being talked about. Learners may confuse the words because in both cases something arrives in the end. The important point is the perspective: 'herholen' emphasizes 'from there to here', while 'bringen' is more neutral.
herholen
Kannst du bitte den Hausmeister herholen, weil die Heizung nicht funktioniert?
Could you please fetch the caretaker because the heating isn't working?
bringen
Meine Nachbarin bringt die Unterlagen morgen zum Amt.
My neighbor is taking the documents to the office tomorrow.
In real life
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