German Prepositions: Place, Time, And Location (Präpositionen)

My proudest early-German moment was when a neighbor asked where I lived and I answered confidently:
„Ich wohne unter Berlin.“
I meant in Berlin.
I accidentally said I lived under Berlin.
He now thinks I’m some kind of friendly underground yak monster.

Prepositions matter. They’re small, sneaky, and unbelievably important for sounding natural. Once you learn the main patterns for place, time, and location, German sentences suddenly click into place—without trapping you under a city.

Quick Primer

German prepositions fall into predictable groups:

• Some always take the dative (location: in Berlin).
  
• Some always take the accusative (movement: into Berlin).
  
• Some do both depending on meaning (two-way prepositions).
  
• Time prepositions are simple and extremely regular.
  

The goal here: learn useful patterns, not grammar lectures.

Core Place Prepositions (Location)

These answer Where? (no movement).

They almost always use dative in location meaning.

Examples:

• Ich bin in Berlin.
  /ɪç bɪn ɪn bɛʁˈliːn/
  I am in Berlin.
  
• Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch.
  /das buːx liːkt aʊ̯f deːm tɪʃ/
  The book is on the table.
  
• Die Katze schläft unter dem Bett.
  /diː ˈkat͡sə ʃlɛːft ˈʊntɐ deːm bɛt/
  The cat sleeps under the bed.
  

Movement Prepositions (Direction)

These answer Where to? (movement toward something).

Often use accusative.

Examples:

• Ich gehe in die Stadt.
  /ɪç ˈɡeːə ɪn diː ʃtat/
  I’m going into the city.
  
• Wir fahren auf den Berg.
  /viːɐ̯ ˈfaːʁən aʊ̯f deːn bɛʁk/
  We’re going onto the mountain.
  
• Er läuft durch den Park.
  /eːɐ̯ laʊ̯ft dʊʁç deːn paʁk/
  He walks through the park.
  

Two-Way Prepositions (German’s Famous Trick)

These change case depending on meaning:

• Dative = no movement (location)
  
• Accusative = movement (direction)
  

They are:

an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen

Examples:

Location (dative):

• Der Yak ist im Café.
  deːɐ̯ jak ɪst ɪm kaˈfeː
  The yak is in the café.
  

Movement (accusative):

• Der Yak geht ins Café.
  deːɐ̯ jak ɡeːt ɪns kaˈfeː
  The yak goes into the café.
  

The meaning shift is small but vital.

Prepositions Of Time

These are friendly, regular, and beautifully simple.

Examples:

• um 8 Uhr – at 8 o’clock
  
• am Montag – on Monday
  
• im Mai – in May
  
• vor zwei Jahren – two years ago
  
• seit 2019 – since 2019
  
• nach dem Essen – after eating
  

Sample sentence:

• Ich arbeite seit 2020 hier.
  /ɪç ˈaʁbaɪ̯tə zaɪ̯t t͡svaɪ̯tausntˈt͡svaŋt͡sɪç hiːɐ̯/
  I’ve been working here since 2020.
  

Prepositions Of Location (Static + Context)

These focus on general place, not physical position.

Examples:

• Ich bin bei Maria.
  I am at Maria’s place.
  
• Ich gehe zu meinem Arzt.
  I’m going to my doctor.
  
• Ich fahre nach Hamburg.
  I’m going to Hamburg.
  
• Ich komme aus Kanada.
  I come from Canada.
  
• Das Geschenk ist von mir.
  The gift is from me.
  

Region Notes

• Southern Germany loves bei dir? as a friendly “you good?”
  
• In Switzerland, nach + mountains is common (nach Luzern, nach Bern).
  
• Austria uses the same system but may use beim conversationally more frequently.
  
• Core prepositions are identical across all German-speaking countries.
  

Mini Dialogues

Dialogue 1 – Meeting Someone

Wo bist du?
/voː bɪst duː/
Where are you?

Ich bin im Park, auf der Bank.
/ɪç bɪn ɪm paʁk aʊ̯f deːɐ̯ baŋk/
I’m in the park, on the bench.

Komme gleich.
/ˈkɔmə ɡlaɪ̯ç/
Coming soon.

Dialogue 2 – Talking About Time

Wann treffen wir uns?
/van ˈtʁɛfn̩ viːɐ̯ ʊns/
When are we meeting?

Um 7, am Freitag.
/ʊm ziːbn̩ am ˈfʁaɪ̯taːk/
At 7, on Friday.

Perfekt.
/pɛʁˈfɛkt/
Perfect.

Dialogue 3 – Directions

Wie komme ich zum Bahnhof?
/viː ˈkɔmə ɪç t͡sʊm ˈbaːnhoːf/
How do I get to the train station?

Geh geradeaus und dann nach links.
/ɡeː ɡəˈʁaːdə aʊ̯s ʊnt dan naːx lɪŋks/
Go straight and then to the left.

Alles klar, danke.
/ˈaləs klaːɐ̯ ˈdaŋkə/
All good, thanks.

Quick Reference

Five-Minute Practice Plan

• Make 3 sentences with in (location) and 3 with in (movement).
  
• Describe your house using: auf, unter, hinter, neben.
  
• Say 3 times out loud: um, am, im with examples.
  
• Shadow Dialogue 1 slowly focusing on stress.
  
• Make a tiny travel story: Ich gehe nach… Ich komme aus… Ich bin bei…
  
• Look around your room and describe one object’s location using a preposition.
  

Prepositions Without Panic

Once these patterns click, German sentences stop feeling like puzzles and start feeling natural.
You’ll know when you’re in a café, when you’re walking into a café, when you’re meeting at a café, and when you’re running from a café because the yak ordered four cakes again.