hilfreich
helpful
Useful and supportive; contributing to solving a problem or improving a situation.
EXAMPLE
Deine Ratschläge waren wirklich sehr hilfreich für meine Entscheidung.
Your advice was really very helpful for my decision.
hilfreich
helpful
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Meanings
Usage tips
Word composition
The adjective 'hilfreich' (helpful) is made up of the noun 'die Hilfe' (help) and the suffix '-reich' (rich in). It literally means 'rich in help.'
EXAMPLE
Vielen Dank, das war eine sehr hilfreiche Erklärung.
Thank you very much, that was a very helpful explanation.
Sentence structure with prepositions
'Hilfreich' (helpful) is often used with the prepositions 'für' (+ accusative) or 'bei' (+ dative). 'Hilfreich für' describes who or what something is useful for, while 'hilfreich bei' names the situation or task.
EXAMPLE
Diese App ist hilfreich für das Sprachenlernen.
This app is helpful for language learning.
Sentence structure with infinitive
A very common construction is 'Es ist hilfreich, ... zu + infinitive' (It is helpful to ...). This can be used to describe a helpful action.
EXAMPLE
Es ist hilfreich, vor einer Reise das Wetter zu prüfen.
It is helpful to check the weather before a trip.
Compare with
hilfreich vs nützlich
useful
“Hilfreich” and “nützlich” can both express a positive benefit. “Hilfreich” emphasizes that something provides support in a specific situation or makes a problem easier to solve. “Nützlich” focuses more on something being suitable for a particular practical purpose.
hilfreich
Der Hinweis der Kollegin war hilfreich, weil ich damit den Fehler sofort fand.
The colleague’s tip was helpful because it enabled me to find the error immediately.
nützlich
Die Checkliste der Kollegin ist nützlich, weil ich sie bei jeder Prüfung verwenden kann.
The colleague’s checklist is useful because I can use it every time I conduct an inspection.
In real life
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