erstmal
German, adverb/ˈeːɐ̯stmaːl/
erstmal is spelled E-R-S-T-M-A-L (7 letters) and appears 71 times per million words in written German, the 1,205th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Erstmal is a German adverb meaning “first (before anything else)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “bevor etwas anderes geschieht”.
What does erstmal mean in English?
adverb
- 1
colloquialfirst (before anything else)
- 2
for the time being, for now
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adverb: 1. bevor etwas anderes geschieht
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of erstmal
- erst mal alternative
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce erstmal?
- /ˈeːɐ̯stmaːl/
- [ˈeːɐ̯stmaːl]
- [ˈɛʁstmaːl]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
How common is erstmal in German?
erstmal appears 71 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).