German Prepositions Quiz & PDF

German prepositions can look tiny, but they run the sentence like little traffic officers with attitude. They tell you where, when, why, how, and sometimes which case to use — because apparently one job title was not enough.

In this guide, you’ll learn the most useful German prepositions, how they’re pronounced, what they mean, and how they behave in real sentences. By the end, you’ll be able to use the common ones with more confidence and far fewer “wait… why is this dative?” moments.

If you want the broader learning hub, start with Yak Yacker’s German lessons. For a quick pronunciation check on individual words, a boring but useful dictionary like Duden is always a safe bet.

Table of Contents

What A Preposition Does

A preposition links one part of the sentence to another. In English, that’s words like in, on, at, for, with, and without. German does the same job, but prepositions often control case, so they can change the article after them.

That means the preposition is not just decoration. It is bossy. Very bossy.

Some prepositions always take one case. Others can take two. A few can even contract with an article in everyday speech, which is convenient for humans and mildly rude to beginners.

The Most Useful German Prepositions

German	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
in	in	in, into	Ich bin in der Küche.	I am in the kitchen.	Often dative for location, accusative for movement.
auf	owf	on, onto, at	Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch.	The book is on the table.	Very common with surfaces and events.
an	ahn	at, on, by	Wir sitzen am Fenster.	We are sitting by the window.	Can contract: an + dem = am.
bei	bye	at, with, at someone’s place	Ich bin bei meiner Freundin.	I am at my friend’s place.	Useful for people and companies.
mit	mit	with	Ich fahre mit dem Bus.	I’m going by bus.	Always dative.
ohne	OH-nuh	without	Er trinkt Kaffee ohne Zucker.	He drinks coffee without sugar.	Always accusative.
für	fur	for	Das Geschenk ist für dich.	The gift is for you.	Always accusative.
von	fon	from, of	Der Anruf ist von meiner Mutter.	The call is from my mother.	Often dative; also used for passive-style expressions.
zu	tsoo	to, toward, for	Ich gehe zu dem Arzt.	I’m going to the doctor.	Often contracts to zum / zur.
nach	nahkh	to, after	Wir fahren nach Berlin.	We’re going to Berlin.	Used for cities, countries without articles, and “after”.
vor	for	before, in front of	Er steht vor dem Haus.	He is standing in front of the house.	Location or time.
hinter	HIN-ter	behind	Das Auto ist hinter dem Haus.	The car is behind the house.	Often a two-way preposition.
über	OO-ber	over, above, about	Das Bild hängt über dem Sofa.	The picture hangs above the sofa.	Can also mean “about” in topics.
unter	OON-ter	under, below	Die Katze schläft unter dem Tisch.	The cat is sleeping under the table.	Very common and very useful.
zwischen	TSVISH-en	between	Die Bank ist zwischen dem Café und der Apotheke.	The bank is between the café and the pharmacy.	Usually dative in location descriptions.
neben	NAY-ben	next to, beside	Ich sitze neben dir.	I’m sitting next to you.	Very common with people and objects.

Notice how several of these can be used for both place and movement. German loves context. Unfortunately, context does not always love you back.

Case Matters: Dative, Accusative, And The Two-Way Group

Many German prepositions are tied to a case. The good news: the preposition usually tells you what to do. The less good news: you still have to do it.

Pattern	Meaning	German Example	English Translation	Learner Note
Dative preposition + dative article	Shows location, direction with some verbs, or fixed phrases	mit dem Freund	with the friend	mit always takes dative.
Accusative preposition + accusative article	Shows movement, target, or purpose	für den Freund	for the friend	für always takes accusative.
Two-way preposition + dative	Location: where something is	Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch.	The book is on the table.	No movement here, so dative.
Two-way preposition + accusative	Movement: where something goes	Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch.	I put the book on the table.	Movement happens, so accusative.

That location-versus-movement rule is one of the biggest preposition patterns in German. If you want a deeper breakdown, this guide pairs well with German Two-Way Prepositions.

Rule of thumb: If something stays somewhere, use dative. If something moves there, use accusative.

Common Prepositions With Real-Life Examples

German	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
mit	mit	with, by	Ich spreche mit meiner Schwester.	I’m speaking with my sister.	Use for people, tools, transport.
bei	bye	at, by, with	Ich arbeite bei einer Bank.	I work at a bank.	Used a lot with employers.
von	fon	from, of	Das ist ein Geschenk von meiner Oma.	That is a gift from my grandma.	Also common in names and descriptions.
zu	tsoo	to, for	Ich gehe zum Supermarkt.	I’m going to the supermarket.	zu dem = zum, zu der = zur.
nach	nahkh	to, after	Nach dem Essen gehe ich spazieren.	After dinner I go for a walk.	Also used with countries/cities: nach Deutschland, nach Hamburg.
für	fur	for	Das ist für meinen Bruder.	This is for my brother.	Very common in gifts, purpose, and duration.
ohne	OH-nuh	without	Bitte Kaffee ohne Milch.	Coffee without milk, please.	Always accusative.
gegen	GAY-gen	against, around (time)	Wir treffen uns gegen 8 Uhr.	We’re meeting around 8 o’clock.	Can mean “around” with time.
trotz	trots	despite	Trotz des Regens gehen wir raus.	Despite the rain, we’re going out.	Usually genitive in standard German.
seit	zyt	since, for	Ich lerne Deutsch seit zwei Jahren.	I have been learning German for two years.	Very common with time spans.
ab	ahp	from, starting at	Ab Montag arbeite ich wieder.	Starting Monday, I work again.	Useful for schedules and deadlines.
bis	bis	until, up to	Ich bleibe bis Freitag.	I’m staying until Friday.	Often paired with “von … bis …”.

Short Phrases You’ll Actually Hear

Here are some practical everyday expressions. These are the kinds of lines you hear at cafés, train stations, offices, and in messages from people who are already five minutes late.

German	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
am Montag	ahm MON-tahk	on Monday	Am Montag habe ich frei.	I’m free on Monday.	an dem = am.
im Sommer	im ZO-mer	in summer	Im Sommer fahren wir ans Meer.	In summer we go to the sea.	in dem = im.
zum Arzt	tsoom arzt	to the doctor	Ich gehe zum Arzt.	I’m going to the doctor.	zu dem = zum.
zur Arbeit	tsur AR-byt	to work	Sie fährt zur Arbeit.	She’s going to work.	zu der = zur.
bei mir	bye meer	at my place / with me	Heute Abend bin ich bei mir.	Tonight I’m at my place.	Very common in casual speech.
mit dem Zug	mit dehm tsoog	by train	Wir fahren mit dem Zug.	We’re going by train.	Transport often uses mit.
ohne Probleme	OH-nuh proh-BLEH-muh	without problems	Das klappt ohne Probleme.	That works without problems.	Nice useful phrase for everyday speech.
von hier	fon heer	from here	Der Bahnhof ist von hier nicht weit.	The station is not far from here.	Great for directions.
nach Hause	nahkh HOW-zuh	home, to home	Ich gehe nach Hause.	I’m going home.	Fixed phrase. Not zu Hause here if motion is involved.
zu Hause	tsoo HOW-zuh	at home	Ich bin zu Hause.	I’m at home.	Location, not movement.
gegenüber	GAY-gen-OO-ber	opposite, across from	Die Apotheke ist gegenüber dem Bahnhof.	The pharmacy is opposite the station.	Very handy for directions.
trotzdem	TROTS-dem	nevertheless	Es regnet, trotzdem gehen wir raus.	It’s raining; nevertheless, we’re going out.	Not a preposition, but related and very common.

Notice: some expressions like nach Hause and zu Hause are fixed and worth memorising as chunks. German loves little phrase packages. Very efficient. Slightly annoying. Very German.

Pronunciation Tips For Common Prepositions

Most prepositions are short and easy, but a few cause trouble because of spelling and sound changes. Keep these in mind:

zu sounds like “tsoo,” not “zoo.”
bei sounds like “bye.”
von sounds like “fon,” with a clear f sound.
nach ends with the rough ch sound, like a soft throat sound. Not “nach” as in English “snack” with the first letter changed around a bit.
über has ü, which is not the same as English “oo.” Round your lips as if you’re saying “ee.”
zwischen starts with z, which sounds like ts.
vor has a slightly open o, not a dramatic English “vore.”

For audio and dictionary pronunciation help, the Collins German-English Dictionary is a dependable, no-drama option.

Prepositions That Often Contract

In everyday German, some prepositions merge with definite articles. This happens a lot, especially in speech and normal writing.

Full Form	Contracted Form	Example	Meaning	Learner Note
an dem	am	am Montag	on Monday	Very common and essential.
in dem	im	im Haus	in the house	Extremely common.
zu dem	zum	zum Bahnhof	to the station	Standard everyday German.
zu der	zur	zur Schule	to school	Very common with feminine nouns.
von dem	vom	vom Arzt	from the doctor	Useful in spoken German and writing.
bei dem	beim	beim Essen	while eating	Also common in fixed expressions.

These contractions do not change the meaning. They just make German sound normal instead of like a word-by-word robot translation. Which is nice.

Quick Grammar Notes You Should Not Ignore

Here are the big things to remember when using German prepositions:

Some prepositions always take one case. For example: mit takes dative, für takes accusative.
Two-way prepositions take dative for location and accusative for movement.
Prepositions often come before nouns and pronouns. The article changes with the case.
Prepositions can help you express time. For example: am Montag, im Sommer, seit zwei Jahren, bis Freitag.
Negation can interact with prepositions. For example, nicht mit means “not with,” while kein negates nouns. If you want a focused guide, see German Negation With Nicht and Kein.

Yak wisdom: The preposition is the clue. The case is the consequence. German loves consequences.

Mini Comparison: Location Or Movement?

Situation	German	Translation	Why
Something is inside the room.	Die Lampe hängt in dem Zimmer.	The lamp is hanging in the room.	Location = dative.
Someone puts something into the room.	Ich stelle die Lampe in das Zimmer.	I put the lamp into the room.	Movement = accusative.
Something stays on the table.	Das Glas steht auf dem Tisch.	The glass is on the table.	Location = dative.
Someone puts it onto the table.	Ich stelle das Glas auf den Tisch.	I put the glass onto the table.	Movement = accusative.

If you can answer the question “Where is it?” versus “Where is it going?”, you are already halfway to surviving German prepositions without tears and dramatic staring at the ceiling.

If you want to move from explanation to active review, take the quiz below, browse the full prepositions table, and download the PDF for free after the list.

If this guide helps, keep going in the Yak Yacker German section for more grammar lists, travel phrases, and everyday vocabulary pages that connect naturally with prepositions.

The original guide stays below, and now you can review the topic more actively with a quiz, the full reference table, and a free PDF download under the list.