adverb

sofort

immediately

Etwas geschieht ohne Warten, gleich in diesem Moment.

Definition & meaning

The German word sofort is an adverb used to indicate that an action or event should happen immediately or without any delay. It is equivalent to the English words "immediately," "at once," "right away," or "instantly."

It is commonly used in professional and daily contexts to signify urgency or the absence of a time gap between a request and its execution.

Grammar & Word origin

Grammar: As an adverb, sofort does not change its form (no declension or conjugation). It is placed in a sentence according to standard German word order, usually following the verb in main clauses.

Origin: The word is a compound of two Middle High German components:

so: meaning "so" or "as."
fort: meaning "forth" or "away" (derived from the Old High German fort).

Historically, the phrase originally meant "so forth" or "as soon as one goes," which eventually evolved into the modern meaning of "at this very moment."