kürzlich
recently
A short time ago; recently. Refers to a point in the near past.
EXAMPLE
Ich habe ihn erst kürzlich in der Stadt getroffen.
I only recently met him in town.
kürzlich
recently
Checking...
Loading your saved state.
Meanings
Usage tips
Word structure
The adverb 'kürzlich' (recently) is derived from the adjective 'kurz' (short). It describes that an event took place a 'short' time ago.
EXAMPLE
Der Film, den ich kürzlich gesehen habe, war sehr spannend.
The film I recently saw was very exciting.
Position in the sentence
As an adverb of time, 'kürzlich' (recently) can be placed flexibly in the sentence. If it is in position 1, the verb follows directly after it.
EXAMPLE
Kürzlich habe ich meine alte Schulfreundin wiedergetroffen.
Recently, I met my old school friend again.
Use with the past
Since 'kürzlich' (recently) describes an event in the near past, the verb in the sentence is almost always in a past tense form such as the Perfekt or Präteritum.
EXAMPLE
Er hat sich kürzlich ein neues Auto gekauft.
He recently bought himself a new car.
Compare with
kürzlich vs zuletzt
last / recently
Here, zuletzt refers to the most recent of several occasions. Kürzlich only says that something happened a short time ago, without classifying it as the most recent instance in a series. Zuletzt fits the last meeting; kürzlich is sufficient when the focus is simply on how recent it was.
kürzlich
Ich habe Nina kürzlich im Café getroffen.
I saw Nina at the café recently.
zuletzt
Ich habe Nina zuletzt am Montag im Café getroffen.
The last time I saw Nina at the café was on Monday.
In real life
Loading video examples...