adverb

soeben

just

soeben is an adverb meaning “just now,” “only a moment ago,” or “just”. It describes an action or event that happened very recently.

It is often used in formal, written, or somewhat elevated language:

Der Zug ist soeben abgefahren. — The train has just departed.
Die Nachricht ist soeben eingetroffen. — The message has just arrived.
Soeben wurde die Entscheidung bekannt gegeben. — The decision has just been announced.

It usually refers to the immediate past, rather than to something happening at this exact moment.

soeben is an invariable adverb and does not change according to case, gender, or number.

It consists of:

The combination developed the temporal meaning “just now” or “only moments ago.”

gerade eben — just now; very close in meaning, but generally more common in everyday speech
gerade — just; broader and more conversational than soeben
eben — just; often colloquial and context-dependent
vor kurzem — recently; less immediate and therefore not as precise as soeben

soeben emphasizes that something happened only moments ago and can sound more formal than these alternatives.

There is no exact direct antonym. Depending on the context, temporal opposites include:

soeben angekommen — just arrived
soeben erfahren — just learned or found out
soeben eingetroffen — just arrived, often used for news, messages, or deliveries
soeben angekündigt — just announced
soeben veröffentlicht — just published or released