früher

The German word "früher" is an adverb and adjective meaning "earlier," "formerly," or "in the past."

• It stems from the adjective "früh" meaning "early."
• As an adverb, it refers to a time before now (e.g., früher war alles besser – "things were better earlier").
• As an adjective, it modifies nouns to indicate previous times (e.g., die frühere Zeit – "the earlier time").

Similar words:

• ehemals (formerly)
• früherhin (formerly)
• vorher (before)

Differences:

• Früher is more commonly used for general earlier timeframes.
• Ehemals often implies a more formal or historical context.
• Vorher means "before" in a temporal sequence, often shorter before the present moment.