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https://www.mygermanacademy.com/local-prepositions/

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I am going TO the movies. Im going TO Germany. I am going TO the pub. I am

going TO Claudias.

How to say to in German

In German, you can end up saying nach, zu, in, auf, neben and five million more of
those prepositions (not a statistical figure):

Ich gehe INS Kino. Ich gehe NACH

Deutschland. Ich gehe IN die Kneipe. Ich gehe ZU Claudia.

As you can see and may have noticed anyway, you have a few more choices in
German. Having more choices is not always helpful, but you can easily break it down
to a few ideas to help you remember which one you should use.
Zu and nach are your best
mates
Youll get by with only using two prepositions when it comes to saying where youre
going: nach and zu. They are the most efficient ones. Of course, they both translate as
to but are used in different ways.

Im going to show you a very important rule (so youll understand the entire concept),
then well talk about nach, and cycle through in, auf, an, before well finally make our
way to zu. At the end, Ill show you how nach Hause and zu Hause work.

Fahren vs. gehen

If you want to find out more about fahren vs. gehen, please download my quick guide

Yes, I want to download the guide with examples!

1. Nach
The start makes nach. Nach is used when talking about going to countries or cities,
using cardinal directions or going left or right. Its best to just remember its use and
have a look at some examples:

Countries and cities

Nach is used to say youre going to a country or a city:
Ich fahre nach Deutschland. (Im going to Germany.)

Ich fahre nach Berlin. (Im going to Berlin.)

Be aware nach doesnt work with countries that take an article (theres only a few of
them):

Wir fliegen in die Schweiz. (We are going to Switzerland.)

Letzte Woche sind wir in die Trkei gefahren. (Last week, we went to Turkey.)

North, south, east, west and

left and right
You also want to use nach when talking about cardinal directions or left and right, up
and down:

Ich fahre nach Norden/Osten/Sden/Westen. (Im going North/East/South/West.)

Ich gehe nach links/rechts/oben/unten. (Im going left/right/up/down.)

Nach takes dative

As a dative preposition, nach takes the dative case even if youre talking about a
movement, but luckily nach is often used without an article.

Please also note that nach is not your best bet when in doubt. I know a lot of people
think you should go for nach in case you get lost along the lines, but German offers a
more universal preposition.

Ill tell you further down which one it is (spoiler: its zu).
2. In, auf and an
Lets tackle in, auf and an by grouping them up first because all three follow one
important rule. In, auf and an can also be replaced by zu, but more on that further
down, we need do understand them first.

Crucial rule
The crucial rule when it comes to saying where youre going is as follows:

Germans focus on the goal of an action.

Of course, Germans dont run around telling themselves, Im going to say it this way
because my goal of action is this or that, but they do it subconsciously.

Keeping this in mind, lets start with the preposition in and some examples.

2.1 In
Surely, youve come across the preposition in. In looks like the English in and is
sometimes used in similar contexts (Der Mann wohnt IN Melbourne The man lives
IN Melbourne).

But a lot of times, in features where in English you would say TO when it comes to
going somewhere.
Ending up inside
Remember when I told you about the German love for goal-oriented thinking?
Germans love giving actions some context by adding what the goal of the particular
action is.

In is your best mate for saying that youre going somewhere where your goal is
spending time indoors, when youll end up inside:

Ich gehe ins Kino. (Im going to the movies.)

We usually go to the movies to sit inside and shovel some popcorn into our mouths,
take a few sips from our Coke and watch a movie. Because we expect to be sitting
inside, Germans use the preposition in already to say that they are going there. Super
efficient, right?

Can you think of another example? How about going to the gym?

At least in Germany youll be lifting weights indoors (since many times it will be too
cold outside), which means you want to use in already to say youre on your way to
the gym:

Ich gehe ins Fitnessstudio.

Same is true for going to the pub: Ich gehe in die Kneipe.

To the mountains and going to town

Germans also use in when talking about going to the mountains or going to town:

Wir fahren in die Berge. (We are going to the mountains.)

Wir fahren in die Stadt. (We are going to town.)

It makes sense when you think of watching a car from afar driving to the mountains, a
car that will turn into a creeping little dot INSIDE this range of mountains.
Same for a car driving into a city, the car turns into a little smudge before it
completely disappears among the buildings and skyscrapers, IN this boxlike skyline of
a big city.

In takes the accusative case here

As a 2-way-preposition, in takes the accusative case because a motion is being
discussed.

Since we are getting really good at it, lets move on to the next preposition, one that
also has to do with goal-oriented thinking, the preposition auf.

2.2 Auf
Given that Germans anticipate and use the preposition of where theyll end up to
express theyre on their way there, can you think of when you would have to use the
preposition auf?

Ending up on something
Easy one, isnt it? You want to use auf when youll end up ON something:

Ich gehe auf die Strae. (LT: I walk onto the street.)

Ich klettere auf das Dach. (LT: I climb onto the roof.)

Das Kind geht auf die Toilette. (LT: The child goes onto the toilette.)

Auf for formal events

Please also use auf to indicate youre going to a formal event:

Sie geht auf eine Party. (She is going to a party.)

Er geht auf eine Hochzeit. (He is going to a wedding.)

Auf for public places

Or when youre going to public places:

Der Junge geht auf die Bank. (The boy is going to the bank.)

Das Mdchen geht auf den Markt. (The girl is going to the market.)

But how come goal-oriented thinking made us end up ON a party (auf der Party)?
There are no real reasons, but I like to think that most formal events have one thing in
common and that is a stage. Or something that feels like a stage.

The later the night, the more relaxed people feel at a party and the more likely
someone ends up ON that stage. And arent we all on the stage of life anyway? Dont
we all try to present ourselves in the best light possible, especially at a fancy event?

No matter how you remember auf and formal and public events or public places, just
try to make up something that sticks, like being that guy that ends up ON the stage at
a party.

Auf takes the accusative

case (here)
Being a 2-way-preposition, auf takes the accusative case here since were moving
somewhere else.

Next up is another preposition that feeds into the goal-oriented thinking of Germans.
Its the preposition an.
2.3 An
I know many German learners dislike the preposition an. Please dont worry about it
any longer because Im going to tell you what it means.

Ending up on the side of something

Usually an is used to describe that something is right next to someone or something
else. Not pressing against it, just resting on the side of it, very likely tapping or
touching the other thing or person.

For example, an is your most reliable course of action to describe that your hand is
resting on your cheek (deine Hand an deiner Wange) or a man is leaning against a
bar (Der Mann lehnt an der Bar).

Going back to our goal-oriented thinking, you also want to use an before you end up
in that spot or position.

You already want to use an to express you are going there:

Der Mann geht an die Bar. (The man is going to the bar.)

Precise spot
The use of an can also be boiled down to a movement to a precise spot or, when in
English, you would use the preposition at or by:

Gehen wir ans Fenster. (Lets sit by the window.).

Die Polizistin geht an den Tatort. (The police officer walks to the crime scene.)

Gehen Sie an die Kreuzung. (Go to the intersection.)

Since youll end up on the side of the window or (also) on the side of the crime scene
looking at it or (also) on the side of the intersection, its sensible to use an.
Vertical or horizontal boundaries
You can also read about an being used for vertical or horizontal boundaries, and that
makes sense as well since youll end up on the side of something:

Die Touristen gehen an den Strand. (The tourists go to the beach. The beach is on
the side of the ocean.)

Die Kinder gehen an die Wand. (The children are going to the wall.)

Kommst du an die Tr? (Are you coming to the door?)

An takes the accusative (here)

An is also a 2-way-preposition and takes the accusative case here as were describing
a movement.

Do you get the feeling for how it works? Thats good because now well talk about
your best bet when it comes to going somewhere. Your best bet is the preposition zu.

2.4 Nifty trick for in, auf and

an
Now that youre getting a feel for the meaning of these little prepositions, just be
aware what the goal oriented actually thinking results in.

Its going to blow you mind! You can use in, auf and an not only to say youreyoure
there but also when talking about already being there:

Ich gehe ins Kino (Im going to the movies) vs. Ich bin im Kino (Im at the movies)

Wir gehen auf den Alexander Platz (Were going to Alexander square) vs. Wir
snd auf dem Alexander Platz (We are on Alexander place)
Meine Mutter geht an den Strand (My mom is going to the beach) vs. Meine Mutter
ist am Strand (My mum is at/on the beach)

When talking about going there, just use in, auf and an with the accusative case
since youre describing a movement.
Use in, auf and an with the dative case when talking about being there since
youre describing a stationary scenario.

This is the beauty of the two-way-preposition, you can use them again just by
changing the case a.k.a the article. You cant do it with the dative prepositions nach or
zu as theyre always dative, no matter what:

Ich fahre nach Deutschland (Im going to Germany) vs. Ich bin in Deutschland(I am
in Germany)

Ich fahre zu meinem Bruder (Im going to my brothers house) vs. Ich bin bei
meinem Bruder (Im at my brothers house)

Talking about zu, are you ready for the most efficient preposition when it comes to
saying where youre going? Its up next.

3. Zu
Contrary to popular belief, not nach but zu should be your go-to if you have no idea
which preposition to use.

And why is that?

Because you can substitute in, auf and an using zu. Only nach cant be replaced.

Replacing in with zu
In general, you can replace the proposition in with zu, especially if you dont want to
stress the fact that youre moving into a house, a building, a car, or anything else,
when it doesnt matter.
Ich gehe in die Bank./Ich gehe zur Bank. (Im going to the bank.)

Die Freunde gehen in die Kneipe./Die Freunde gehen zur Kneipe. (The friends are
going to the pub.)

Die Frauen gehen ins Fitnessstudio./Die Frauen gehen zum Fitnessstudio. (The
women are going to the gym.)

Sometimes you HAVE to replace in using zu. That is especially the case if indoesnt
make any sense at all:

Ich fahre zum in das Restaurant. (Im going to the restaurant.)

Please note that Ich fahre in das Restaurant is sometimes used in very casual speech
and will be perceived as incorrect when written down, but Ich gehein das
Restaurant will be fine.

Replacing auf with zu

Similar to that, you can also replace auf with zu:

Er klettert auf das Dach./Er klettert zum Dach. (Hes climbing to the roof.)

Sie darf auf die Party gehen./Sie darf zur Party gehen. (Shes allowed to go to the
party.)

Replacing an with zu
Of course, you can also replace an with zu:

Die Mtter gehen an den Strand./Die Mtter gehen zum Strand. (The mothers are
going to the beach.)
Lass uns ans Fenster gehen./Lass uns zum Fenster gehen. (Lets go stand by the
window.)

Exclusive use of zu
Apart from a supporting character, zu is exclusively used to express youre going to
someones house, or to a company, and the company is specified by just its name:

Going to someones house

(dont make this mistake!)
Do you know how to correctly say Im going to my mums house?

Heres a hint the correct translation is not this one:

Ich gehe zu meiner Mutter Hause.

This has always been and will always be incorrect. Please dont use the
word Hause. Its not a proper word.

The English word house translates as das Haus and in plural die Huser. Neither of
them ends in -e.

Im going to my mums (house) is expressed by saying it the following way:

Ich gehe heute Abend zu meiner Mutter. (LT: I go tonight to my mum.)

Thats all you need. Sometimes the German language is indeed devoted to simplicity:
Er fhrt zu seinen Eltern. (Hes going to his parents house.)

Die Kinder gehen zu ihren Groeltern. (The children are going to their grandparents
house.)

Sie fhrt zu Peter. (She is going to Peters house.)

Zu takes the dative

Please notice, zu is a dative preposition and therefore will always and forever take the
dative case, even if a movement is being described.

Last but not least, lets talk about two culprits that you want to memorise as they are.
Please dont base any rules on these two phrases!

The two phrases I just mentioned are

Nach Hause

and

zu Hause or zuhause.

I know I just said theres no word like Hause and here Im presenting it twice to you.

But I also said please learn them as they are because they are phrases. They are
phrases because they dont make any sense nowadays, but they used to make sense.

Back in the day, the dative case of singular words was formed by adding -e to the
word. Since nach and zu are dative prepositions, people used to add -e to the word das
Haus (die Huser).

As this is no longer the case, please dont make up a rule based on these two and just
remember their meaning:

Ich gehe nach Hause. (Im going home.)

Ich bin zu Hause/zuhause. (Im home.)

Please be aware that in casual speech the final -e is dropped, making it sound like zu
Haus or nach Haus, but this will be incorrect in written German.

Summary
Well done. To summarise it, please remember to use:

Nach for most countries, cities, cardinal directions and left and right, up
and down,
In when you end up inside of something,
Auf when you end up on top of something,
An when you end up on the side of something,
Zu to replace in, auf and an and to say youre going to someones house,
Zu when in doubt,
Nach Hause to say youre going home, and
Zu Hause or zuhause to say youre home.

https://www.mygermanacademy.com/local-prepositions/