reihenweise
in large numbers
In large numbers and often one after another; en masse.
EXAMPLE
Nach der schlechten Nachricht gingen die Kündigungen reihenweise ein.
After the bad news, resignations came in in large numbers.
reihenweise
in large numbers
Checking...
Loading your saved state.
Meanings
Usage tips
Word structure
The adverb 'reihenweise' is made up of 'Reihe' (row/line) and 'Weise' (way/manner). It literally means 'in the manner of a row' and expresses that something happens very often or in large quantities, as if it were standing in a long line.
EXAMPLE
Die Touristen kauften reihenweise Souvenirs.
The tourists bought souvenirs in large numbers.
Sentence position
As an adverb, 'reihenweise' can stand flexibly in the sentence. It often stands at the beginning of the sentence in position 1 to emphasize the large quantity. The verb then follows directly.
EXAMPLE
Reihenweise fielen die Schüler durch die schwere Prüfung.
Students failed the difficult exam in large numbers.
Typical collocations
'Reihenweise' is often used with negative or unexpected events to describe their mass occurrence. Typical phrases are 'reihenweise ausfallen' (to be canceled/fail in large numbers), 'reihenweise Fehler machen' (to make lots of mistakes), or 'reihenweise krank werden' (to fall ill in large numbers).
EXAMPLE
Wegen des Streiks fielen die Züge reihenweise aus.
Because of the strike, trains were canceled in large numbers.
Compare with
reihenweise vs massenhaft
massive / in large quantities
Massenhaft mainly emphasizes that errors occur in an exceptionally large number. Reihenweise also refers to many errors, but presents them more as repeated cases or as a series of cases occurring one after another. The key difference is therefore a large quantity versus a large number in a recognizable sequence.
reihenweise
Beim Prüfen entdeckt sie reihenweise Fehler, einen Abschnitt nach dem anderen.
While checking, she discovers errors one after another, section by section.
massenhaft
Im Bericht treten massenhaft Fehler auf, sodass fast jede Seite korrigiert werden muss.
The report contains huge numbers of errors, so almost every page has to be corrected.
In real life
Loading video examples...