herumgehen

[hɛˈʁʊmˌɡeːən]

/[hɛˈʁʊmˌɡeːən]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“herumgehen” is uncommon German (frequency #97,141 among 59,066 “H” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#97,141
frequency rank, German
59,066
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - sich zu Fuß ziellos oder ohne genaue Richtung an einem Ort bewegen

Key facts for herumgehen
PropertyValue
Headwordherumgehen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[hɛˈʁʊmˌɡeːən]
Letters10
Frequency rank#97,141
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “herumgehen” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). herumgehen lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

herumgehen is uncommon German at frequency #97,141 among 59,066 “H” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [hɛˈʁʊmˌɡeːən]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for herumgehen, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is herumgehen, spelled H-E-R-U-M-G-E-H-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    sich zu Fuß ziellos oder ohne genaue Richtung an einem Ort bewegen
  2. 2
    in einem Kreis/Bogen um etwas laufen/wandern
  3. 3
    etwas von einer Person zur nächsten reichen
  4. 4
    eine Neuigkeit/Geschichte weitererzählen
  5. 5
    vergehen, verstreichen
  6. 6
    sich fortwährend mit einem Gedanken beschäftigen

Synonyms

rumgehenumrundenherumreicheninnerlichbeschäftigen

Antonyms

stehenbleiben

This word in other languages

go around(English)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "herumgehen"?
"herumgehen" is spelled H-E-R-U-M-G-E-H-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [hɛˈʁʊmˌɡeːən].
What does "herumgehen" mean?
As a verb, "herumgehen" means: sich zu Fuß ziellos oder ohne genaue Richtung an einem Ort bewegen
How do you pronounce "herumgehen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "herumgehen" is [hɛˈʁʊmˌɡeːən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "herumgehen" come from?
"herumgehen" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “herumgehen”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is H-E-R-U-M-G-E-H-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [hɛˈʁʊmˌɡeːən] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Other uncommon German words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list