How do you say “On the spur of the moment” in German?
The closest natural German equivalent is spontan, which literally means “spontaneously”. English speakers use on the spur of the moment to mean without planning ahead, following a sudden impulse. A concise German match for acting without advance planning. It can sound positive and need not imply carelessness. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural German
spontan
/ʃpɔnˈtaːn/
- Literal meaning
- “spontaneously”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
95 out of 100
What a native German speaker would actually say
“Wir haben spontan gebucht” tells us the booking was not planned. The adverb does the work of the longer English phrase.
For a noun, use “eine spontane Entscheidung”. That means a spontaneous decision and is useful when discussing whether it worked out well.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone4 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
We booked the last two seats on the spur of the moment.
German
Wir haben spontan die letzten beiden Plätze gebucht.
English
On the spur of the moment, I invited the neighbours to dinner.
German
Ich habe die Nachbarn spontan zum Abendessen eingeladen.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-11-04