The German word jeweils is an adverb that plays a distinct role in expressing distribution, alternation, or reference to specific moments or cases within a broader context. Its core meaning is "in each case" or "respectively," and it often appears in sentences where actions, events, or facts apply separately to different subjects or conditions. Jeweils does not inflect and is used identically in all grammatical contexts, positioning itself flexibly in the sentence, often after the verb or subject.
A common example is Die Prüfungen finden jeweils am Montag statt, which translates as "The exams take place on Mondays in each case" or more naturally, "The exams take place every Monday." Here, jeweils highlights that the statement applies to each instance of the exam. Similarly, Die beiden Mannschaften erhalten jeweils einen Pokal means "Each of the two teams receives a trophy," with jeweils signaling that the action is repeated for every team.
Another frequent use appears with numbers or measurements to clarify that a specified quantity applies per individual or group. In Es gibt jeweils zwei Getränke pro Person ("There are two drinks per person"), jeweils avoids ambiguity by making clear that the count resets for each person. This distributive nuance is a key function of the adverb and distinguishes it from more general time or quantity markers.
The etymology of jeweils traces back to Middle High German je wīle or je wīl, meaning "ever at that time" or "at any given moment." The word combines je (ever, at any time) with Weile (a while, a short period), which over time merged into the form jeweils, losing its connection to time duration and evolving into a marker of distribution and case-by-case reference. The historical sense of "at the given time" still surfaces in older texts but is largely replaced by its modern meaning.
Stylistically, jeweils tends toward formal or neutral registers. It is common in official communication, technical descriptions, reports, and precise statements where clarity about distributed actions or repeated occurrences is necessary. In colloquial speech, alternatives are often preferred for ease or natural flow. Words like pro (per), jeder (each), or einzeln (individually) can sometimes replace jeweils, depending on the context. For instance, Jeweils zwei Stücke Kuchen pro Person can be rephrased as Zwei Stücke Kuchen pro Person without changing the meaning. However, jeweils adds a layer of precision that pro might lack when referring to sequential actions or when the distributed element needs emphasis.
In cases of alternation or repeated actions over time, jeweils can sometimes be replaced by temporal phrases such as jedes Mal ("every time"). For example, Er kommt jeweils um acht Uhr ("He arrives at eight o’clock each time") could be expressed as Er kommt jedes Mal um acht Uhr. Jeweils often sounds more compact and formal, while jedes Mal adds a slightly conversational tone.
Jeweils often appears in set phrases in journalism or reports, such as jeweils aktuell ("current at the time"), used to indicate that information reflects the latest status at each reporting moment. Another example is jeweils zur Verfügung ("available at the respective time"), which surfaces in service contexts or schedules.