45 top German prepositions to learn: Dative, accusative & more

It’s easy to get lost in a foreign language - especially if you’re looking for the right preposition! Auf? Aus? Ab? Bei?

Sometimes when you name all the different prepositions in your head, they just disappear into a dense fog of spatial confusion.

German prepositions carry a number of different meanings and consist of very few letters. So they can sound similar, which makes them especially difficult to learn and tell apart - but just like articles and pronouns, these little guys show that some of the smallest words carry a lot of meaning.

That’s why we’ll teach you the most commonly used German prepositions, which cases they go with, and some hilarious German idioms that use them.

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What are prepositions in grammar?

​​Prepositions indicate the relationship between other words within a sentence by clarifying position, direction, or time.
They’re an essential part of the German language, which has more than 80 prepositions. About half of those are commonly used. Those are the ones we’ll list here for you.

Keep in mind that prepositions can have multiple functions and, therefore various different meanings. It often doesn’t make sense to translate them literally. So it helps to learn new expressions and idioms together with their respective prepositions.

Generally, prepositions can be divided into four groups:

Prepositions that initiate:

• the accusative case
• the dative case
• either the accusative or dative case (also called two-way prepositions)
• the genitive case

German dative prepositions

German dative prepositions are accompanied by a noun or pronoun in the dative case. They indicate various relationships between two things within a sentence, including location (bei, nahe) and direction (nach, zu).

Preposition	English meaning	Example sentence	Translation
Aus	From, out, outside of, of, off	Heute gehe ich nicht aus dem Haus.	Today I won’t go out of the house.
Außer	Except, unless	Niemand außer dir versteht mich.	Nobody understands me except you.
Bei	At, with, by	Ich bin bei Anna.	I’m with Anna. (locally, next to her)
Mit	With	Ich bin mit Anna zusammen.	I’m with Anna. (We’re dating)
Nahe	Near	Ich wohne nahe dem Fluss.	I live near the river.
Neben	Next to, besides	Der Stift liegt neben dem Telefon.	The pen is next to the telephone.
Gemäß	According to	Gemäß Paragraph 18 sind Sie jetzt zum Kauf verpflichtet.	According to paragraph 18 you are now obliged to purchase.
Entgegen	Contrary to	Entgegen aller Vernunft kaufte sie den Porsche.	Contrary to all reason, she bought the Porsche.
Nach	To, towards, past (+time)	Ich fliege nach L.A.	I’m flying to L.A.
Zu	To	Ich fahre zu Julian.	I’m driving to Julian’s.
Binnen	Within	Bitte überweisen Sie den Betrag binnen 14 Tagen.	Please transfer the amount within 14 days.
Ab	From	Ich arbeite ab 8 Uhr.	I work from 8AM.
Abgesehen von	Aside from, apart from	Abgesehen von kleinen Schwierigkeiten läuft das Projekt gut.	Apart from a few minor difficulties, the project is going well.
Seit	Since	Seit dem Gespräch hab ich hier das Sagen.	Since the conversation, I've been in charge here.
Von	Of, from	Von hier aus sind es noch 20 km.	From here it’s another 20 km.
Einschließlich	Including	Ich hab alles gefunden, einschließlich Bananen.	I found everything, including bananas.
Samt, mitsamt	With, along with	Ich bin samt Kleidung ins Wasser gesprungen.	I jumped into the water with all my clothes.
Laut	According to	Laut deiner Mama solltest du in der Schule sein.	According to your mom, you should be in school.
Dank	Thanks to	Dank dir bin ich glücklicher als je zuvor.	Thanks to you, I am happier than ever before.
Entsprechend	Accordingly	Dem Vertrag entsprechend geht das leider nicht.	Unfortunately, this is not possible according to the contract.
Gegenüber	Opposite, compared to	Er saß mir direkt gegenüber.	He was sitting directly across from me.
Zufolge	According to	Ihr zufolge gibt es keinen Grund zur Sorge.	According to her, there is no need to worry.

When and how to use German dative prepositions

Here are some things to keep in mind when using German dative prepositions:

• Make sure to put each noun or pronoun that accompanies the dative preposition you’re using into the correct case: the dative.
• As you can see, prepositions often go right in front of the noun or pronoun they refer to: “einschließlich Bananen” (“including bananas”).
• As German sentence structure is very flexible, you’ll also find prepositions behind the word they refer to: “mir direkt gegenüber”. (“directly across from me” but literally “me directly across from”).
• If you’re going to a place, you say “nach” but if you’re going to a person, you use “zu”.

German accusative prepositions

German accusative prepositions are accompanied by a noun or pronoun in the accusative case. They indicate things like manner (für), time (um) and others.

Preposition	English meaning	Example sentence	Translation
Für	For	Die Blumen sind für dich.	The flowers are for you.
Je	Per, as per	Wir haben je einen Kaffee bestellt.	We ordered one coffee each.
Pro	Per	Es gab nur einen Keks pro Person.	There was only one cookie per person.
Ohne	Without	Ohne dich ist es langweilig.	It's boring without you.
Durch	Through	Ich weiß durch meine Chefin davon.	I know about it through my boss.
Gegen	Against, around (+time)	Ich bin gegen die Idee.	I am against the idea.
Bis	Until	Wir waren bis zum Morgen wach.	We were awake until morning.
Um	At (+time), about, around	Der Film fängt um 20:15 Uhr an.	The movie starts at 8:15 pm.

When and how to use German accusative prepositions

Here are some things to keep in mind when using German accusative prepositions:

• Make sure to put each noun or pronoun that accompanies the accusative preposition you’re using into the correct case: the accusative.
• As you can see here too, prepositions tend to be found in front of the noun or pronoun they refer to: “für dich” (“for you”).
• Accusative prepositions include some important prepositions that you’ll need to tell the time in German, including “bis”, “um”, and “gegen”.

Two-way prepositions in German

Two-way prepositions in German, also known as dual prepositions, can come with either the accusative or dative case, depending on the context of the sentence.

Preposition	English meaning	Example sentence	Translation
An	At, upon, on	Dative: Das Bild hängt an der Wand. Accusative: Ich hänge das Bild an die Wand.	The picture is hanging on the wall. I'm hanging the picture on the wall.
Auf	On, to, at	Dative: Der Schlüssel liegt auf dem Tisch. Accusative: Ich lege den Schlüssel auf den Tisch.	The key is on the table. I put the key on the table.
In	In, into	Dative: Die Katze sitzt in dem Karton. Accusative: Die Katze klettert in den Karton.	The cat is sitting in the box. The cat is climbing into the box.
Über	About, over, above	Dative: Das Foto hängt über dem Schreibtisch. Accusative: Ich hänge ein Foto über den Schreibtisch.	The photograph is hanging above the desk. I'm hanging a photograph above the desk.
Unter	Under, underneath below, among	Dative: Der Hund schläft unter der Decke. Accusative: Der Hund kriecht unter die Decke.	The dog is sleeping under the blanket. The dog is crawling under the blanket.
Neben	Next to, beside	Dative: Ich bin direkt neben dir. Accusative: Darf ich mich neben dich setzen?	I’m right next to you. Can I sit down next to you?
Zwischen	Between, among	Dative: Das Kind steht zwischen den Eltern. Accusative: Das Kind hat sich zwischen die Eltern gesetzt.	The child is standing between the parents. The child sat down between the parents.
Vor	Before, ago, ahead, in front of	Dative: Das Paket steht vor der Tür. Accusative: Sie hat es vor die Tür gestellt	The box is in front of the door. She put it in front of the door.
Hinter	Behind, after	Dative: Der Hund versteckt sich hinter dem Sofa. Accusative: Er ist hinter das Sofa gesprungen.	The dog is hiding behind the couch. He jumped behind the couch.

When and how to use German two-way prepositions

Here are some things to keep in mind when using German two-way prepositions:

• The correct case depends on the context and what you want to say.
• If the preposition describes a location or a state of being, it takes the dative case: ”Das Bild hängt an der Wand" (The picture is hanging on the wall.
• If the preposition describes a motion towards a destination or a location, it takes the accusative case: "Ich hänge das Bild an die Wand" (I'm hanging the picture on the wall).

German genitive prepositions

German genitive prepositions are accompanied by a noun or pronoun in the genitive case, which is used to show possession. So they describe a possessive relation (innerhalb, wegen) or reference time (während).

Preposition	English meaning	Example sentence	Translation
Anstatt	Instead of	Sie ging mit ihrer Schwester zum Ball anstatt mit ihrem Freund.	She went to the prom with her sister instead of her boyfriend.
Außerhalb	Outside of	Wir sind außerhalb der Geschäftszeiten nicht zu erreichen.	We can’t be reached outside of office hours.
Innerhalb	Inside of, within	Das muss innerhalb einer Stunde fertig sein.	This must be completed within an hour.
Trotz	In spite of	Trotz des Regens ging ich spazieren.	In spite of the rain, I went for a walk.
Wegen	Because of, due to	Der Unterricht fällt heute wegen des Schnees aus.	Classes are canceled because of the snow.
Während	During	Während meines Urlaubs habe ich viel gelesen.	During my vacation, I read a lot.

When and how to use German genitive prepositions

Here are some things to keep in mind when using German genitive prepositions:

• Make sure to put each noun or pronoun that accompanies the genitive preposition you’re using into the correct case: the genitive.
• Notice how most genitive prepositions can be translated with some form of the preposition "of" in English.

A complete German prepositions chart

Here’s a German prepositions chart to remind you which prepositions go with which case:

Preposition	Case	Example	Translation
Aus, Außer, Bei, Mit, Nahe, Neben, Gemäß, Entgegen, Nach, Zu, Binnen, Ab, Abgesehen von, Seit, Von, Einschließlich, Samt, Mitsamt, Laut, Dank, Entsprechend, Gegenüber, Zufolge	Dative	Meine Katze Luna springt aus dem Bett und tapst zur Tür.	My cat Luna jumps out of bed and plods to the door.
Für, Je, Pro, Ohne, Durch, Gegen, Bis, Um	Accusative	Für mich ist gerade ein Paket angekommen und sobald ich den Karton leer mache, stürmt Luna darauf zu.	A package has just arrived for me and as soon as I empty the box, Luna rushes towards it.
An, Auf, In, Über, Unter, Neben, Zwischen, Vor, Hinter	Dative or Accusative	Sie klettert in den Karton. Es sieht aus, als hätte sie es sehr gemütlich in ihrem neuen Versteck.	She climbs into the box. It looks like she is very comfortable in her new hiding place.
Anstatt, Außerhalb, Innerhalb, Trotz, Wegen, Während	Genitive	Katzen sitzen einfach gern in Kartons, trotz der Betten, die wir ihnen zurechtmachen.	Cats just love to sit in boxes, despite the beds we make for them.

Hilarious German idioms that use prepositions

Many prepositions have found their way into idioms, some of which are pretty entertaining.

Can you guess what it means if someone gives you “a wave with the fence post” or “pulls you through the hot chocolate”?

Preposition	Literal translation	Context	English meaning
Es ist zum Mäusemelken!	It leads to milking mice!	Some things just drive you crazy so you end up doing something as nonsensical as milking mice	It's enough to drive you up the wall
Etwas an die große Glocke hängen	To hang something on the big bell	People used to ring the church bells to get everyone together in person to announce big news.	To shout it from the rooftops
Auf dem Schlauch stehen	To stand on the hose	Something gets stuck on the way to your brain, in a figurative hose.	To not understand
Ist dir eine Laus über die Leber gelaufen?	Did a louse run across your liver?	This uses the same imagery as English: a bug messing with your mood.	Is something bugging you?
Unter aller Sau sein	To be under all pig	Back in the day, there was a custom of giving a pig to the loser of a competition, as a sign of defeat.	To be really bad
Jemanden in die Wüste schicken	To send somebody into the desert	A biblical reference to sending someone really far away	To kick somebody to the curb
Hinter dem Mond leben	To live behind the moon	The back side of the moon is permanently turned away from the earth, so someone who lives there misses what’s going on.	To be behind the times
Jemanden /etwas durch den Kakao ziehen	To pull somebody / something through the hot chocolate	Originally, this saying included a different word than “hot chocolate” (it had the same color!) but this censored cocoa version is the only one that’s being used today.	To make fun of somebody / something
Ein Wink mit dem Zaunpfahl	A wave with the fence post	Waving with something as sturdy as a fence post will definitely get someone’s attention.	To give a broad hint

If you love a chuckle, you can learn more funny German words and phrases in this article.

Don’t start milking mice just yet

I know this was a lot to take in. Trying to choose the right preposition might be one of the biggest challenges when learning German.

Luckily there are some amazing blogs to help you better understand complex topics like this one. Maybe you should check out some more?

Pssst! That was a subtle wave with the fence post towards our very own German language blog.