Skip to content

Herkunft

origin

noun HAIR-kunft Less Common
People & Society Nationality

Also means

background

Usage Note

Herkunft denotes a person's origin or 'background' (social, ethnic, geographic) and the provenance of goods, die Herkunft der Waren. It is built from her (hither) + Kunft (a coming), so literally 'a coming-from'. There is no everyday plural.

Examples

"Seine Herkunft ist unbekannt."

Natural Translation

His origin is unknown.

Explore German by topic