woher
German, adverb/voˈheːɐ̯/
woher is spelled W-O-H-E-R (5 letters) and appears 44 times per million words in written German, the 1,929th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Woher is a German adverb meaning “where from, whence” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “leitet eine Frage nach der Herkunft ein”.
What does woher mean in English?
adverb
- 1
where from, whence
Woher kommt ihr? (informal, plural)
- 2
how (not the general meaning of "in which way", but meaning "from which source" or "from where" exactly)
Woher soll ich das wissen?
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adverb: 1. leitet eine Frage nach der Herkunft ein 2. aus der genannten Richtung, vom genannten Ausgangspunkt her
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 woher?
- /voˈheːɐ̯/
- [voˈheːɐ̯]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to woher
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is woher in German?
woher appears 44 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).