German Prepositions – Complete Guide with Case Rules, Lists, and Examples

Key takeaways

• Every German preposition locks its following noun into a specific case — accusative, dative, or genitive — with no exceptions within that group.
• Accusative-only prepositions: durch, für, gegen, ohne, um. Dative-only: aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu, gegenüber, außer.
• Nine two-way prepositions (an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen) take accusative for movement toward a location (wohin?) and dative for static position (wo?).
• Many preposition + article combinations contract into short forms: in dem → im, in das → ins, an dem → am, zu dem → zum, zu der → zur, bei dem → beim, von dem → vom.
• Prepositions also govern time expressions with consistent rules: an for days and dates, in for months/years/seasons, um for clock times, seit for duration from a past point.

German prepositions are one of the most practically important grammar topics to master. They appear in every sentence involving location, direction, time, cause, accompaniment, or relationship — which covers a large share of everyday communication. The good news is that German prepositions follow strict case assignment rules: once you know which case a preposition takes, it never changes. The challenge is the two-way group, where the same preposition can trigger either accusative or dative depending on whether movement or position is expressed.

This guide covers every preposition group with complete word lists, case rules, the wo/wohin distinction for two-way prepositions, contracted forms, time expression usage, and extensive real sentence examples. If you want guided practice, explore German on Promova and build preposition fluency step by step.

What are German prepositions?

A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other elements of the sentence — expressing location, direction, time, cause, manner, or logical connection. In German, prepositions are inseparable from the case system: every preposition requires its following noun to take a specific grammatical case, which changes the article form.

Compare:

• Ich gehe durch den Park. — I walk through the park. (durch + accusative: den Park)
• Ich treffe mich mit dem Freund. — I meet with the friend. (mit + dative: dem Freund)
• Trotz des Regens gehen wir raus. — Despite the rain we go out. (trotz + genitive: des Regens)

Why cases matter with German prepositions

The case determines the article form that follows the preposition. Learning each preposition alongside its case is essential — "für" is never dative, "mit" is never accusative. This binary certainty actually makes prepositions one of the easier case topics: once a preposition is in the right group, no further decision is needed (except for the two-way group).

Accusative prepositions

These five prepositions always take the accusative case — no exceptions:

• durch — through, by means of
• für — for
• gegen — against, around (time), versus
• ohne — without
• um — around, at (time), for

Remember them with the mnemonic: d-f-g-o-u (durch-für-gegen-ohne-um).

Examples:

• Ich kaufe ein Geschenk für meinen Bruder. — I buy a gift for my brother. (masc. acc.: meinen)
• Wir gehen durch den Wald. — We walk through the forest. (masc. acc.: den)
• Ohne das Wörterbuch kann ich nicht arbeiten. — Without the dictionary I can't work. (neut. acc.: das)
• Das Medikament hilft gegen die Schmerzen. — The medication helps against the pain. (fem. acc.: die)
• Wir treffen uns um die Ecke. — We meet around the corner. (fem. acc.: die)
• Er ist gegen einen Baum gefahren. — He drove into a tree. (masc. acc.: einen)

Dative prepositions

These prepositions always take the dative case:

• aus — from, out of (origin, material)
• außer — except for, besides
• bei — at, near, with (someone's home)
• gegenüber — opposite, across from (usually follows the noun)
• mit — with, by (means of transport)
• nach — after, to (cities/countries/directions)
• seit — since, for (ongoing duration from past)
• von — from, of, by
• zu — to (places, people, purposes)

Remember: aus, außer, bei, gegenüber, mit, nach, seit, von, zu — always dative.

Examples:

• Ich fahre mit dem Zug. — I travel by train. (neut. dat.: dem)
• Er wohnt bei seinen Eltern. — He lives with/at his parents. (plural dat.)
• Sie kommt aus der Türkei. — She is from Turkey. (fem. dat.: der)
• Ich lerne seit einem Jahr Deutsch. — I have been learning German for a year. (neut. dat.: einem)
• Nach dem Essen gehen wir spazieren. — After the meal we go for a walk. (neut. dat.: dem)
• Das Café ist dem Hotel gegenüber. — The café is opposite the hotel. (neut. dat.: dem; gegenüber follows noun)
• Ich gehe zum Arzt. — I go to the doctor. (zu + dem contracted to zum)

Genitive prepositions

These prepositions take the genitive case and are more common in writing and formal speech. In everyday speech, many are increasingly followed by dative, but the genitive remains standard in formal German:

• trotz — despite, in spite of
• wegen — because of, due to
• während — during
• statt / anstatt — instead of
• innerhalb — within, inside of
• außerhalb — outside of
• aufgrund — due to, on the basis of
• mithilfe — with the help of
• dank — thanks to

Examples:

• Trotz des schlechten Wetters gingen wir spazieren. — Despite the bad weather we went for a walk. (neut. gen.: des)
• Wegen des Unfalls war die Straße gesperrt. — Due to the accident the road was closed. (neut. gen.: des)
• Während des Konzerts war es sehr laut. — During the concert it was very loud. (neut. gen.: des)
• Statt des Kaffees trank ich Tee. — Instead of coffee I drank tea. (masc. gen.: des)
• Aufgrund der schlechten Noten muss er wiederholen. — Due to the bad grades he has to repeat. (fem. gen.: der)

Two-way prepositions — the wo/wohin rule

Nine prepositions switch between accusative and dative depending on whether the sentence expresses movement toward a destination (wohin? — where to?) or static position/location (wo? — where?):

The nine two-way prepositions: an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen

• Accusative (wohin? — movement/direction): describes where something moves to — the destination
• Dative (wo? — position/location): describes where something is — the static position

Side-by-side comparisons:

• Acc.: Ich gehe in die Stadt. — I go into the city. (wohin?)
• Dat.: Ich bin in der Stadt. — I am in the city. (wo?)
• Acc.: Er legt das Buch auf den Tisch. — He lays the book onto the table. (wohin?)
• Dat.: Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. — The book is lying on the table. (wo?)
• Acc.: Das Kind läuft hinter das Haus. — The child runs behind the house. (wohin?)
• Dat.: Das Kind spielt hinter dem Haus. — The child plays behind the house. (wo?)
• Acc.: Hänge das Bild an die Wand. — Hang the picture on the wall. (wohin?)
• Dat.: Das Bild hängt an der Wand. — The picture is hanging on the wall. (wo?)

A practical shortcut: verbs describing placing, hanging, putting (legen, stellen, hängen, setzen, stecken) typically trigger accusative. Verbs describing being, lying, standing, sitting (liegen, stehen, hängen, sitzen) typically trigger dative.

Contracted forms — preposition + article

Several common preposition + article combinations contract into a single short form. These contractions are standard and obligatory (not optional) in written German:

• an + dem → am: am Montag, am Bahnhof
• an + das → ans: ans Meer fahren
• in + dem → im: im Sommer, im Park
• in + das → ins: ins Kino gehen
• bei + dem → beim: beim Arzt, beim Essen
• von + dem → vom: vom Bahnhof, vom Chef
• zu + dem → zum: zum Supermarkt, zum Glück
• zu + der → zur: zur Schule, zur Arbeit
• auf + das → aufs: aufs Land fahren
• durch + das → durchs: durchs Fenster schauen

Prepositions in time expressions

German uses specific prepositions consistently for different types of time reference:

• an — days of the week, parts of the day (+ dative): am Montag (on Monday), am Morgen (in the morning), am Wochenende (at the weekend)
• in — months, seasons, years, centuries (+ dative): im Januar (in January), im Sommer (in summer), im Jahr 2025 (in the year 2025)
• um — clock times (+ accusative): um drei Uhr (at three o'clock), um Mitternacht (at midnight)
• vor — ago, before (+ dative): vor zwei Wochen (two weeks ago), vor dem Essen (before the meal)
• nach — after (+ dative): nach dem Kurs (after the course), nach Hause (home — fixed phrase)
• seit — since/for with ongoing present (+ dative): seit einem Jahr (for a year), seit Montag (since Monday)
• bis — until, by (+ accusative): bis Freitag (by/until Friday), bis nächsten Monat (until next month)
• für — for a defined duration (+ accusative): für zwei Wochen (for two weeks)

Prepositions in everyday sentences — extended examples

• Ich sitze auf dem Stuhl. — I am sitting on the chair. (dat. — position)
• Ich setze mich auf den Stuhl. — I sit down onto the chair. (acc. — movement)
• Nach der Arbeit trinke ich Tee. — After work I drink tea. (dat. — time)
• Wegen des Verkehrs komme ich spät. — Because of the traffic I'm late. (gen. — cause)
• Ohne dich ist alles langweilig. — Without you everything is boring. (acc. — pronoun object)
• Ich warte seit einer Stunde. — I have been waiting for an hour. (dat. — duration)
• Das Konzert beginnt um 20 Uhr. — The concert starts at 8 p.m. (acc. — time)
• Sie fährt mit dem Fahrrad zur Arbeit. — She cycles to work. (dat.: dem; contracted: zur)

Tips for mastering German prepositions

• Learn each preposition with its case group immediately. Never learn a preposition in isolation — always attach its case label. Write them as: "für (acc.)", "mit (dat.)", "trotz (gen.)". This prevents the common habit of guessing the case later.
• Memorize the accusative group as a fixed list. There are only five: durch, für, gegen, ohne, um. Memorizing this short list means that for any other preposition you encounter, you can eliminate accusative as an option — narrowing the decision to dative, genitive, or two-way.
• For two-way prepositions, ask wo? or wohin? This single question resolves every two-way preposition decision. Practice by building sentence pairs: one with movement (acc.), one with position (dat.) for the same preposition and location.
• Learn contractions as vocabulary. Treat im, ins, am, zum, zur, beim, vom as individual words rather than rules to apply. They appear so frequently that recognizing them as fixed forms is far faster than decomposing them each time.
• Group time prepositions by time unit. An + day, in + month/season/year, um + clock time, seit + ongoing duration. This four-rule system covers 80% of German time expressions and prevents the common error of using in for clock times or am for months.

Learn German prepositions with support on Promova

Promova offers structured preposition lessons organized by case group — from the accusative five and the dative nine to the two-way system and genitive prepositions. Interactive exercises give immediate feedback on case choices, and speaking practice helps you use prepositions automatically in real German sentences across location, time, and everyday communication contexts.

Final thoughts on German prepositions

German prepositions are high-frequency, case-locked, and essential for natural communication. The accusative group is small and fixed. The dative group is larger but entirely consistent. The genitive group is formal but predictable. The two-way group requires the wo/wohin question but then follows consistent rules. Learn each group as a unit, master the contractions as vocabulary, and apply the wo/wohin test for two-way prepositions — and these essential words will become automatic across every type of German sentence you read or build.