21 December 2025
How do you say Hurry in German?
When you’re running late, rushing to catch a train, or someone’s yelling at you to move faster - Germans say: Beeilung! It’s the noun form of “hurry up,” and it carries a mix of impatience and encouragement.
The noun Beeilung means hurry, haste, or rush, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. It is chiefly used as an exhortation to hurry, as in Ein bisschen Beeilung! The verb sich beeilen and the noun Eile are also useful everyday choices.
It’s a feminine noun, so we say die Beeilung.
Pronunciation
Beeilung is pronounced approximately [buh-EYE-lung], with short u.
- The “ei” is pronounced like “eye,”
- The ending -lung has a short u as in “put” and ng as in “sing,”
- The stress is on the second syllable: be-EI-lung.
It sounds quick and active - just like its meaning.
Example sentences:
- Ein bisschen Beeilung, bitte!Hurry up a bit, please!
- Wegen der Beeilung hat er seinen Schlüssel vergessen.Because of the rush, he forgot his keys.
Nuance and usage tips
Beeilung comes from the verb sich beeilen - to hurry. But the noun form is mostly used in exclamations and casual pressure:
- Beeilung! Wir kommen zu spät! - Hurry up! We’re going to be late!
- Beeil dich! - Hurry up!
You won’t usually see Beeilung in formal writing. It’s more of a spoken, situational noun - something you’d say in real life, not put in an academic essay.
Contrasting words are Gemächlichkeit (leisureliness) and Langsamkeit (slowness); both describe a slower pace rather than hurrying.
Grammatical case examples (Beeilung can be declined as shown, but outside exhortations Eile is usually the more natural choice):
- Nominative:Die Beeilung war unnötig - der Zug hatte Verspätung.The rush was unnecessary - the train was late.
- Accusative:Ich hasse die Beeilung am Morgen.I hate the morning rush.
- Dative:Mit der Beeilung passieren leicht Fehler.With all the hurrying, mistakes happen easily.
- Genitive:Wegen der Beeilung vergaßen wir das Ticket.Because of the rush, we forgot the ticket.
Feminine case pattern: die, die, der, der
Word variations and language tidbits
Variation Station:
- sich beeilen - to hurry (verb)
- Eile - hurry, haste (Ich bin in Eile. - I’m in a hurry.)
- eilen - to rush (formal/literary verb)
- in aller Eile - in great haste
- Mach schnell! - colloquial way to say “Hurry up!”
- Keine Eile! - “No rush!”
Fun usage note:You’ll often hear Beeilung! shouted by parents, teachers, or impatient friends. It’s a fixed phrase - not used with articles in commands. Like:
Beeilung, Kinder! Der Bus fährt gleich.“Hurry up, kids! The bus is about to leave.”
📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Beeilung
🎥 Learn Beeilung and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free online video course:Watch the 1000 German Nouns video course
Alternate translations note:Eile is common in both speech and writing: Ich bin in Eile means “I’m in a hurry.” For “Hurry up!” you can use Beeil dich! (one person), Beeilt euch! (several people) or Beeilen Sie sich! (formal address). Beeilung! is also possible as an exhortation.
Ready for more German words of the day? Do you know what Belohnung means? How about Besucher? Find out!
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