wobei
German, adverb/voˈbaɪ̯/
wobei is spelled W-O-B-E-I (5 letters) and appears 138 times per million words in written German, the 640th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Wobei is a German adverb meaning “Introduces a comitative sentence, denoting a simultaneous event with the main clause. It frequently corresponds to English present…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “leitet einen Satz/Nebensatz ein, der den Inhalt des vorhergehenden Satzes etwas näher erläutert”.
What does wobei mean in English?
adverb
- 1
Introduces a comitative sentence, denoting a simultaneous event with the main clause. It frequently corresponds to English present participles (-ing) in adverbial use.
"Nein, bitte nicht", wehrte Bernie schnell ab, wobei er zugleich seine Rechte über das Glas hielt.
- 2
Interrogative and relative adverbs: by what, about what
Wobei ist er gestört worden?
- 3
colloquialSometimes with verb in the second position. With concessive meaning when main and subordinate clauses are semantically incompatible.
Er lacht nie, wobei er seine Zähne wirklich nicht verstecken muss.
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adverb: 1. leitet einen Satz/Nebensatz ein, der den Inhalt des vorhergehenden Satzes etwas näher erläutert 2. aber 3. bei welcher Sache
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
How do you pronounce wobei?
- /voˈbaɪ̯/
- [voˈbaɪ̯]
- [ˈvoːbaɪ̯]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to wobei
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is wobei in German?
wobei appears 138 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).