A2 · Prepositions · about 4 minutes
Going somewhere: nach, zu, in, auf
nach Berlin, zum Arzt, in die Stadt, auf die Post
Four prepositions for a destination, chosen by what kind of place it is.
Do you know this already?
“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 2 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need2
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- die Bibliotheklibrary
- die Postpost office; post
Missing a word? Look it up in the dictionary
Understand
RememberNo article means nach; a person or institution means zu.
- Signal words
- nach
- zu
- zum
- zur
- in
- ins
- auf
- an
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in German.
| nach + towns, countries without an article | nach Wien, nach Spanien |
| fixed expressions | nach Hause, nach links |
| zu + dative, people and institutions | zum Arzt, zu ihm |
| in + accusative, going inside | in die Stadt, ins Büro |
| auf + accusative, open spaces | auf den Markt, auf die Post |
| an + accusative, edges and water | ans Meer, an den Tisch |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
nach is for cities and for countries without an article.
Wir fahren nach Hamburg.We are going to Hamburg.
zu takes the dative and is used for people and institutions.
Ich gehe zum Zahnarzt.I am going to the dentist.
in plus accusative means going inside.
Sie geht in die Bibliothek.She is going into the library.
A country with an article takes in, not nach.
Er fliegt in die Türkei.He is flying to Turkey.
Example sentences
Ich fahre morgen nach München.I am going to Munich tomorrow.
Wir gehen zu meinen Eltern.We are going to my parents’.
Gehst du heute ins Kino?Are you going to the cinema today?
8 more example sentences
Sie muss noch auf die Post.She still has to go to the post office.
Wir fahren ans Meer.We are going to the seaside.
Fährst du nach Hause?Are you going home?
Sie geht zur Arbeit.She is going to work.
Wir ziehen in die Stadt.We are moving into town.
Geh bitte an die Tür.Go to the door, please.
Er will auf den Markt.He wants to go to the market.
Nach rechts, dann geradeaus.Right, then straight on.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Nach is reserved for places named without an article — cities, most countries, and the fixed nach Hause. As soon as an article is needed, the destination is not a nach destination. Worse, nach dem Arzt is grammatical and means "after the doctor", so the sentence comes out as a statement about time rather than about where you are going.
Quick check
A warm-up: 2 questions, answered straight away. They do not count towards your progress.
Practise
One lesson, one clear goal: you pass with 80% right on the first try. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself4 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
Your progress
What your lesson on this topic shows:
The lesson decides this, not a button: passed at 80% on the first try, mastered when you pass it again on another day.
Next on the path: 45 · haben or sein in the perfectBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
English says "to" for every destination. German picks one of four, and the choice depends on the kind of place. Nach is for cities, countries without an article, and directions: nach Berlin, nach Italien, nach links, nach Hause.
Zu is for people and for places seen as institutions: zum Arzt, zur Schule, zu meiner Schwester, zur Arbeit. It always takes the dative and it is the safe default whenever nothing else obviously fits.
In plus the accusative is for going inside something, and for countries that have an article: in die Stadt, ins Kino, in die Schweiz. And auf plus accusative covers open spaces and, in some regions, a small set of institutions with counters: auf den Markt, auf die Post, auf die Bank — where zur Post and zur Bank are just as common.
A closer look
Three fixed phrases for home
German distinguishes going home, being at home and coming from home with three fixed phrases that ignore the usual rules: nach Hause(going)zu Hause(being there)von zu Hause(coming from) None of them takes an article, all three are frozen, and they come up every day.
Southern German and Austrian use heim and daheim for the first two, which are worth recognising. And modern spelling allows zuhause as one word for the second, so both spellings are correct.
Exceptions and special cases2
Exception
When a country carries an article
then it takes in plus the accusative.
Wir fahren in die Schweiz.We are going to Switzerland.
Why? Die Schweiz, die Türkei, der Iran, die USA are the ones that come up most.
Exception
When the destination is an event
then German uses auf or zu.
Ich gehe auf eine Party. Er geht zum Konzert.I am going to a party. He is going to the concert.
Why? Both are idiomatic and neither is derivable.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
The answer to woher uses aus and von
Coming from a place is aus when you were inside it (aus Deutschland, aus dem Haus) and von when you were at it (vom Arzt, von der Arbeit). The split mirrors the one between in and zu for the outward journey.
Worth knowing
German has three where-words
Woasks where something iswohinwhere it is goingwoherwhere it came from English collapsed all three into "where", losing "whither" and "whence"; German keeps them, and they match the case of the preposition exactly.
The verbs on this page, in every form: gehen · fahren · müssen · fliegen