beiläufig

casually, in passing

adverb BY-loy-fikh Rare

Also means

incidentally

Usage Note

Beiläufig describes something said or done as if it were unimportant, often to downplay significance. The adjective use (eine beiläufige Bemerkung) is equally common.

Examples

"Er erwähnte beiläufig, dass er den Job gewechselt hatte."

Natural Translation

He mentioned in passing that he had changed jobs.

Literal Translation

He mentioned casually, that he the job changed had.

Free starter pack

Building your German vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common German words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Related Words

Explore German by topic

GermanNow

German Days, Months & Seasons (am, im & -tag)

Days of the week in German use am, months and seasons use im — plus the -tag pattern, capitalized nouns, and how to build a real sentence with a day.

June 5, 2026 4 min read

GermanNow

Wo, Wohin, Woher: Three Ways to Say Where

German splits where into three: wo (location), wohin (destination), and woher (origin). Learn the wo vs wohin rule, the hin/her logic, and common mistakes.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

German Colors: Names, Shades, and Idioms

German colors are adjectives that take endings — say das rote Auto, not das rot Auto. Get the names, shades, the das-Rot rule, and 14 color idioms.

June 5, 2026 5 min read

GermanNow

German Cases Explained Simply (4 Cases)

German has four cases, and each answers one question: wer, wen, wem, wessen. Learn nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive without drowning in charts.

June 5, 2026 6 min read