{"id":93442,"date":"2023-03-10T23:05:24","date_gmt":"2023-03-11T04:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/directions-in-german\/"},"modified":"2025-01-31T00:23:47","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T05:23:47","slug":"directions-in-german","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/directions-in-german\/","title":{"rendered":"Directions in German: Essential Words and Phrases"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you’re planning on going abroad or just learning German online from home<\/a>, knowing how to get and give directions in German will help you with your overall fluency. And you never know when direction-specific vocab will pop up in everyday conversation.<\/p>\n

This guide to directions in German will make sure you know your links<\/em> (left) from your rechts<\/em> (right).<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Directional Adverbs in German: Wo<\/em> vs. Wohin<\/em><\/h2>\n

There’s one part of directional speak in German that we have to clear up first.<\/p>\n

In German, there are multiple words for “where”:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t
German<\/th>English<\/th>Meaning<\/th>Example<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Wo <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\"Where\"<\/td>Indicates a specific place<\/td> Wo sind wir? <\/a>\n <\/em>
\nWhere are we?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wohin <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Combines \"where\" and \"to\" <\/td>Indicates a direction or motion towards a place<\/td> Wohin gehen wir? <\/a>\n <\/em>
\nWhere are we going?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Basically, to give wo<\/em> that extra sense of destination, you just need to add on –hin<\/em>\u00a0to the end to create\u00a0wohin<\/em>.\u00a0 It’s not too tricky, but getting it right is important.<\/p>\n

This also happens with another word: da <\/i>and dort<\/em>, which are another pair of German words for “there”:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
German<\/th>English<\/th>Meaning<\/th>Example<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Da <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\"There\" <\/td>Usually indicates a place relatively close to the speaker.<\/td> Da ist er! <\/a>\n <\/em>
\nThere he is!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dort <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\"There\"<\/td>Usually indicates a place further away from speaker, usually considerable distance. <\/td> Sie hat ein Haus dort. <\/a>\n <\/em>
\nShe has a house there. <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dahin <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Combines \"there\" and \"to\"<\/td>Indicates movement or direction towards a place, usually one a bit closer to the speaker. <\/td> Leg das Buch bitte dahin. <\/a>\n <\/em> Please put the book down there. <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dorthin <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Combines \"there\" and \"to\" <\/td>Indicates movement or direction towards a place, usually one further away from the speaker. <\/td> Du f\u00e4hrst nach Berlin? Kannst du mich dorthin mitnehmen? <\/a>\n <\/em> You're driving to Berlin? Can you take me there with you?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Luckily, da\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0dort\u00a0<\/em>this difference in\u00a0da\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0dort\u00a0<\/em>isn’t so strict in modern German, so you’ll often hear them used interchangeably, with a preference for\u00a0da\u00a0<\/em>in more informal contexts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Be careful not to get caught out with da, <\/em>however, as colloquially it can also mean “here” or “there” when talking about someone’s presence somewhere:<\/p>\n

Der Zug ist schon da.\u00a0<\/i>(The train is already here.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ist deine Mutter gerade da?\u00a0<\/em>(Is your mom there right now?)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Useful German Direction Words and Phrases<\/h2>\n

Now that you know about wohin<\/em>, dahin <\/em>and dorthin,<\/em> you should be able to knock up your own direction sentences and questions.<\/p>\n

Let’s look at the basics:<\/p>\n

die Richtungen \u2014 <\/em>directions<\/h3>\n

Wie komme ich dahin? \u2014 <\/em>How do I get there?<\/h3>\n

Here’s an example of dahin <\/em>in action, meaning “there” plus movement.<\/p>\n

Below are some more useful vocabulary words and phrases:<\/p>\n

Wie komme ich zum Bahnhof? <\/em>\u2014\u00a0<\/em>How do I get to the train station?\u00a0<\/h3>\n

die Stadtmitte <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>the city center<\/h3>\n

der Dom <\/em>\u2014\u00a0<\/em>the cathedral<\/h3>\n

das Hotel <\/em>\u2014\u00a0<\/em>the hotel<\/h3>\n

links <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>left<\/h3>\n

rechts <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>right<\/h3>\n

gerade aus \u2014 <\/em>straight on<\/h3>\n

Gehen Sie immer gerade aus <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>Keep on going straight ahead<\/h3>\n

\u00fcber die Br\u00fccke gehen <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>to go over the bridge<\/h3>\n

um die Ecke <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>round the corner<\/h3>\n

gegen\u00fcber von <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>opposite from<\/h3>\n

in Richtung der Kirche <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>in the direction of the church<\/h3>\n

entlang <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>along<\/h3>\n

Gehen Sie diese Stra\u00dfe entlang <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>Go down \/ along this street<\/h3>\n

der Stadtplan <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>city map<\/h3>\n

der Nord <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>north<\/h3>\n

der Ost <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>east<\/h3>\n

der West <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>west<\/h3>\n

der S\u00fcd <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>south<\/h3>\n

nach Norden \/ Osten \/ Westen \/ S\u00fcden <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>to the north \/ east \/ west \/ south<\/h3>\n

bis zur <\/em> (before a feminine noun) \/ bis zum <\/em>(before a masculine or neuter noun) \u2014 <\/em>up to<\/h3>\n

bis zur Ampel <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>up to the traffic lights<\/h3>\n

bis zum Kino <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>up to the cinema<\/h3>\n

Movement and the Accusative in German<\/h2>\n

When it comes to directions, there’ll usually be movement in the sentences used.<\/p>\n

One important thing to remember is that certain prepositions can change the definite or indefinite articles<\/a>. Some prepositions in German<\/a> will take the dative case<\/a> if there’s no movement in the sentence; if there’s movement, they’ll take the accusative<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These are the prepositions in question:<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
German Preposition<\/th>English<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
an <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>at \/ on \/ to<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
auf <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>at \/ on \/ to \/ upon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
hinter <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>behind<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
in <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>in \/ into<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
neben <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>beside \/ near \/ next to<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00fcber <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>about \/ above \/ over \/across<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
unter <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>under \/ among<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
vor <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>in front of \/ before<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
zwischen <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>between<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/p>\n

The examples below should clarify things a bit more.<\/p>\n

Ich gehe in den Supermarkt.
\n<\/em>I’m going into the supermarket.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In this example, I’m moving into the supermarket, so der Supermarket <\/i><\/b>needs to be in the accusative. This means\u00a0der\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Supermarkt\u00a0<\/em>becomes den\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Supermarkt.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Ich stehe vor dem Supermarkt. <\/em>
\nI’m standing in front of the supermarket.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, with this one, I’m standing in front of the supermarket and there’s no movement or direction indicated in the sentence. So we need the dative case and den <\/strong><\/em>Supermarkt<\/strong> switches to dem Supermarkt<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Here’s another example:<\/p>\n

Ich lege das Buch auf das<\/strong> Bett.
\n<\/em>I place the book on the bed.<\/p>\n

As the book is being put down\u2014a clear sign of movement\u2014we need the accusative case.<\/p>\n

Das Buch liegt auf dem<\/strong> Bett.
\n<\/i>The book is lying on the bed.<\/p>\n

Here the book is lying still on the bed, so we need the dative.<\/p>\n

Useful Online Resources to Help with Directions in German!<\/h2>\n

Now that we’ve gone over the basic grammar and vocab you need to talk about directions, it’s time to start practicing.<\/p>\n

One of the best ways to practice your German directions is to get out and about on the streets. However, not all of us will be heading over to Germany anytime soon, so here are a few websites that will be really useful:<\/p>\n