Nach, in, zu, auf, an: direction prepositions¶
German answers the question wohin? (where to?) with five different prepositions. The choice doesn't depend on the verb: fahren, gehen and fliegen go with any of them. The choice depends on the destination: a city, a person, a mountain, the board in a classroom. English "to" and "into" don't help here, because the German prepositions divide destinations differently.
Which preposition for which destination¶
| Destination type | Präposition | Kasus | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| A city or country with no article | nach | — | nach Berlin, nach Kanada |
| "Home" (fixed idiom, no article) | nach | — | nach Hause |
| A country that takes an article | in | Akkusativ | in die Schweiz, in die Türkei |
| Enclosed space / fixed idiom | in | Akkusativ | ins Bett, in die Stadt, in die Berge |
| A person | zu | Dativ | zu meiner Oma, zum Arzt |
| Climbing up / an open place | auf | Akkusativ | auf den Berg, auf die Bühne, auf die Toilette |
| Vertical landmark / border / idiom | an | Akkusativ | an die Tafel, an die Grenze, an die frische Luft |
The trap: nach Hause or zu Hause?¶
Both phrases are correct, and both are used without an article. The difference is direction or location. nach Hause answers wohin?: Ich gehe jetzt nach Hause. (I'm going home now.) zu Hause answers wo? (at which place?): Ich bin zu Hause. (I'm at home.) Choose by the question, not by the verb. A movement verb can also go with zu Hause: Er läuft zu Hause herum. (He walks around at home.) There is no direction here, so the question is wo?.
Why this isn't just "the preposition's case"¶
in, auf and an are Wechselpräpositionen (two-way prepositions). On their own, they can take two cases. When the phrase answers wohin?, they take Akkusativ. When it answers wo?, they take Dativ. Movement alone doesn't decide the case. Er läuft im Park. (He runs in the park.) has movement but no direction, so it takes Dativ. All examples on this page answer wohin?, so all three take Akkusativ here.
nach and zu aren't Wechselpräpositionen. They always take Dativ. After nach, cities and countries have no article, so you can't see the case there.
This means that once you choose the preposition, you know the case: Akkusativ after in, auf and an, Dativ after zu. You only choose the preposition, and the choice depends on the destination.
Exercises¶
You can find more exercises on this topic in the Telegram bot @ImmerWiederholenBot. The bot saves your progress and reminds you when it's time to review.
See also¶
- Prepositions and cases: prepositions whose case doesn't depend on the meaning.
- Verbs with prepositions: here the preposition depends on the verb, not on the destination.
- German cases: start here if cases in general are still confusing.